Netflix France’s VP of content Pauline Dauvin has warned that France’s newly expanded investment obligations for streamers risk turning cultural diversity into a “checklist,” arguing that rules designed to broaden creative output could threaten editorial freedom and weaken the country’s production ecosystem.
In an op-ed published in Le Monde and titled “More Obligations, Less Diversity: Why We’re Challenging France’s New Rules,” Dauvin says the streamer is appealing new “diversity” obligations introduced at the start of the year because they impose a rigid editorial blueprint on subscription streaming services.
Since 2021, France has imposed some of Europe’s most ambitious investment obligations on global streaming platforms under its implementation of the European Audiovisual Media Services Directive. Under France’s current framework, subscription-based services such as Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ are required to invest 20% of their local revenue in French and European films and series. The new expanded rules now demand that streamers double their investment in three genres: animation, documentaries and live performance.
The Netflix France chief says the new diversity sub-quota could set a precedent for more prescriptive regulations targeting streamers, pushing the system away from audience demand and creative judgment and toward “regulatory micromanagement.”
