Macron calls for French electronic music to receive UNESCO cultural heritage status
"We are the inventors of electro. We have that French touch," the French President said in a recent interview
French President Emmanuel Macron has called for French touch to be granted UNESCO cultural heritage status.
In an interview with French radio station Fréquence Gaie to mark Fête de la Musique celebrations, the president commented on French electronic music's similar cultural status to Berlin techno, insisting: “We’re going to do that too."
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"I love Germany — you know how pro-European I am," he added. "But we don’t have to take lessons from anyone. We are the inventors of electro. We have that French touch."
UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage aims to protect music, art and other forms of human expression across the globe, while Berlin techno was added its list last June, other genres include Colombian marimba, Jamaican reggae, the Cuban rumba and more.
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Should French touch be recognised by the UN body, music from artists who were foundational in the creation of the genre - such as Daft Punk, David Guetta, Bob Sinclair, Justice, Cassius, Modjo and more - would be regarded as "significant manifestations of humanity's intangible heritage."
Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter