The EWC 2026 ended with leaders of two G20 countries standing beside an esports trophy, according to the source. The Esports Foundation moved the event from Riyadh to Paris at short notice because of the Iran war, a decision French President Emmanuel Macron publicly welcomed.
The source says France has some of the only dedicated esports policies and regulations in the European Union, dating to the 2016 Digital Republic Act. It says the law sets labor rules for players and state registration of events, and that a 2017 decree allows underage players to compete under rules on playing time and medical requirements.
Officials who worked at senior levels of the EWC told the source they relied on existing esports regulations and government resources. The source reports that esports events in France are taxed at 5.5% VAT, the same rate as sports, and that the visa process for EWC was described as "painful, but efficient."
The source says a parliamentary bill, "pour un esport responsable et attractif," was registered and assigned to committee in 2025 but has not been voted on. It would address visa and talent mobility, event security, and the legal status of online competitions such as paid-entry tournaments. The source says the bill's timing is uncertain because of an upcoming presidential election.
France's national esports strategy ran from 2020 to 2025. According to people familiar with the process, the scheduled 2026 revision has been postponed several times, partly because of changes in prime minister and the EWC. The source says the government intends to publish the revision in the fall, though it does not say whether that timeline is firm.