French President Emmanuel Macron gives a second public shout-out to Clair Obscur after its Game Awards sweep: 'A source of great pride for Montpellier and for France'

France's President Emmanuel Macron addresses a speech during a meeting with senior government officials in Paris on March 12, 2024.

(Image credit: Ludovic Marin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

The people (and Geoff Keighley) have spoken: Clair Obscur is a certified zinger, and now the French head of state himself is cheering on Sandfall Interactive. The Final Fantasy-inspired RPG just guzzled an astonishing nine awards at The Game Awards, including Game of the Year, triggering a response from French President Emmanuel Macron himself and signaling that the nation is nearing a Civilization-style cultural victory.

Macron took to Instagram to express his admiration for Sandfall Interactive, saying (as Google Translate tells me): "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has just been named Game of the Year in Los Angeles. A historic first for a French title! A source of great pride for Montpellier and for France. Congratulations to the teams at Sandfall Interactive. For future generations and those to come!"

It's the second time Macron has spoken about the game's success. He called Expedition 33 "a shining example of French audacity and creativity" in the weeks after its release earlier this year. While I have my doubts that Macron is in his office toying with different Pictos combinations and mastering his parry timings, it's significant that the game has gotten his attention at all: it demonstrates that videogames are works with real cultural heft, the sort that leaders on the global stage see fit to take seriously.

Regardless, it's a nice feather in Sandfall's cap—the studio has rapidly become one of the most distinguished in the RPG space with just a single game out, and kudos like these only lend more prestige.

Justin first became enamored with PC gaming when World of Warcraft and Neverwinter Nights 2 rewired his brain as a wide-eyed kid. As time has passed, he's amassed a hefty backlog of retro shooters, CRPGs, and janky '90s esoterica. Whether he's extolling the virtues of Shenmue or troubleshooting some fiddly old MMO, it's hard to get his mind off games with more ambition than scruples. When he's not at his keyboard, he's probably birdwatching or daydreaming about a glorious comeback for real-time with pause combat. Any day now...

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