France Should Become a Blockchain Nation by Investing 500M Euro, MPs Say

[Ozark]

Leading members of the French National Assembly have called on the government of President Emmanuel Macron to embrace blockchain technology by investing 500 million euro in the sector. Jean-Michel Mis, an MP from the ruling La République En Marche (REM), and his counterpart from the main opposition Les Républicains (LR), Laure de La Raudière, presented on Wednesday a special distributed ledger technology report.

The two deputies outlined 20 proposals that should make France a “blockchain nation.” DLT can improve public and private services, stimulate economic growth, and diversify the economy.

The state authorities should have a focus on public investments as private companies have already begun to explore blockchain-driven products. According to Mis and de La Raudière, the government should increase the budget of the French National Research Agency with the goal to examine DLT solutions.

 “This 10-year-old [blockchain] technology is moving out of the experimental stage into an industrial implementation. The public will see the development of its uses in everyday life,” Mis said during the report’s presentation at the National Assembly.
According to Mis and de La Raudière, currently, one of the main problems is the lack of knowledge about the blockchain technology in France, and the country can miss the opportunity that DLT represents. France is in danger of repeating its unfortunate experience with the Internet revolution when the country was rapidly outdistanced by its competitors, mainly the United States, and China, because of its late and inadequate measures, the MPs explained.

The report from Mis and de La Raudière is part of the legislature’s inter-party blockchain group, which brings together members of the economy, finance, and law commissions.

In September, the National Assembly voted for a new regulation on initial coin offerings (ICO) as part of a Finance Ministry plan for France to become an ICO hub. The rules should come into force next year. Last month, the government said that it was ready to provide certificates to existing ICO projects with several conditions, including paying taxes and coming under state oversight.


SOURCE