The French government has announced it is seeking public comment on virtual spaces.

The directorate general for the enterprise division of France’s government says the purpose of the consultation is to design a French strategy capable of anticipating the transition to virtual spaces such as the metaverse and to offer an alternative to the virtual immersive universes currently offered by international BigTech giants like Meta.

In the consultation, businesses are asked about whether they plan to invest in the multiverse, obstacles that could impede the progress of French companies in building metaverses, and their expectations for demand from professionals.

French citizens are asked whether they would spend leisure time engaging with a so-called virtual universe and what their current experience with technologies such as mixed reality, blockchain and 3D creation software are.

Jean-Noël Barrot, French minister delegate in charge of digital transition and telecommunications, said that virtual spaces hold strong technological and economic promise. With this in mind, he revealed that France intends to adopt a strategy so that this digital transition does not take place to the “detriment of [its] technological, economic and cultural sovereignty”.

“The adoption of these technologies will only prosper if they are put at the service of our fellow citizens,” he said. “This is one of the main objectives of the public consultation that we are launching today and which will allow us to provide answers that meet expectations and needs.”

Share Story: