When Berlin won UNESCO recognition for its techno scene last year, French ravers cheered, then immediately asked, Et nous ? Now President Emmanuel Macron is answering that question head-on. In a recent interview with the electronic-music-focused station Fréquence Gaie (FG), Macron pledged to seek UNESCO “intangible cultural heritage” status for French electronic music, better known worldwide as French touch.
A Presidential Remix
“We’re going to do that too,” Macron told FG, noting that while he admires Germany, France hardly needs “lessons from anyone.” Then came the line already lighting up dance-music message boards: “We are the inventors of electro. We have that French touch.”
It’s classic Macron, equal parts pan-European boosterism and unabashed national pride, but his point lands. From Daft Punk’s robot helmets to the filter-swept disco loops of Étienne de Crécy, France’s contribution to electronic music is as immediately identifiable as a Guy-Manuel vocoder riff.
How UNESCO’s List Works
UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list isn’t a trophy cabinet; it’s more like a global user manual for safeguarding living traditions, whether that’s Cuban rumba or Irish harp music. Signatory countries submit nominations describing practices, skills, or expressions their communities deem vital. If approved, the item joins a roster meant to protect everything from culinary savoir-faire (France’s baguette won in 2022) to regional music such as Guadeloupean gwoka and Réunion’s maloya.
Germany’s 2023 nomination of Berlin techno set an important precedent: electronic dance culture can, in fact, be heritage worthy of preservation. For France, a successful bid would place French touch shoulder-to-shoulder with those traditions, official recognition that a pair of drum machines can carry as much cultural weight as a Stradivarius.
What Exactly Is French Touch?
Ask five DJs and you’ll get five definitions, but the term generally covers the wave of French producers who dominated turn-of-the-millennium club culture:
- Daft Punk – The helmeted duo whose breakout single “Da Funk” (1995) and era-defining Homework album coined a crunchy, filter-heavy house sound.
- Cassius & Bob Sinclar – Masters of funk-laced, radio-friendly house anthems.
- AIR & Phoenix – Bringing cinematic downtempo and indie-dance into the electronic fold.
- Étienne de Crécy, Alan Braxe, Stardust – Sampling everything from Chic to Chaka Khan and running it through vintage compressors until it glowed.
Though rooted in 1990s Paris and Versailles studios, the aesthetic bled across genres, house, disco, electro-pop, and across borders. Even today, acts like Justice, m83, and Myd keep the filters warm, while underground labels such as Ed Banger champion new talent.
Why It Matters Now
French touch no longer dominates pop charts the way it did when “One More Time” ruled airwaves, yet its DNA runs deep in global EDM. Macron’s push is as much about preserving that legacy as it is about futureproofing a scene whose venues face rising rents and post-pandemic uncertainty.
UNESCO status could:
- Boost cultural funding – Opening grants for festivals, archives, and educational programs.
- Protect historic clubs – Similar to how Berlin uses heritage status to shield iconic venues from redevelopment.
- Inspire the next wave – Signaling to young producers that their craft is part of a proud national lineage worth sustaining.
What’s Next?
The French Ministry of Culture will craft a formal dossier: a narrative of French touch’s origins, its community value, and a plan to safeguard it, perhaps even a cameo from Thomas Bangalter’s legendary Roulé catalog. The bid will then face UNESCO’s evaluation panel, where cultural heavyweights, not nightclub bouncers, decide who gets in.
Should the application succeed, it wouldn’t just add another notch to France’s cultural belt. It might even coax a retired duo out for one more time, or at least inspire the next generation to dust off their drum machines and dream of filter-saturated glory.
After all, if Berlin’s techno pulse can join the heritage hall of fame, surely the French touch deserves its own spot on the global dancefloor.