Lionel Laurent, Columnist

The French Unicorn Dream Built on Trading Cards

Macron’s talk of tech sovereignty meets the harsh reality of fantasy football, NFTs and FOMO.

July 29, 2021 at 5:45 AM UTC

Lionel Laurent is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist writing about the future of money and the future of Europe. Previously, he was a reporter for Reuters and Forbes.

Making a splash.
Photographer: KARL-JOSEF HILDENBRAND/DPA

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Emmanuel Macron has long dreamed of unicorns. Before the pandemic struck, he called on investors and bankers to help fund 25 French billion-dollar startups by 2025 to “irrigate” the economy with jobs and boost Europe’s tech defenses against the U.S. and China. Record fundraising and startup exits have brought him closer to his goal, with France boasting 23 unicorns according to Dealroom.co data.

But if current trends are anything to go by, talk of tech sovereignty is set to brush up against the type of startup garnering huge valuations after the pandemic — including addictive cryptocurrency-fueled crazes. It’s a potentially volatile mix.