FGI France 2025 (French Internet Governance Forum) — In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest & 3-Line Summary

The 3-Line Summary

1. On 13 November 2025, FGI France met at Campus Fonderie de l'Image in Bagnolet, near Paris, and online, marking the IGF's 20th anniversary with an opening plenary on the governance of responsible AI.
2. Forward-looking workshops covered AI and the territories, the post-quantum internet and the right not to use the internet, while ICANN and Afnic briefed participants on the new gTLD application round opening in 2026; concrete proposals for nationwide AI literacy were tabled.
3. France's paradox — generative AI everywhere while some 16 million people struggle with digital tools — mirrors digital divides elsewhere, and treating AI literacy as a governance issue is a lesson that travels.

Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on FGI France 2025 (French Internet Governance Forum) draws on official outputs, session records and on-site reporting. In a hurry? The three lines above and the diagrams carry the gist.

📍 As in 2024, the venue was in Bagnolet (Seine-Saint-Denis), immediately adjacent to Paris; officially billed as taking place 'in Île-de-France and online'

Conference at a Glance (from official records)

(See the source list at the end of this article.)

Discussion Digest — from the Session Records

Key exchanges extracted from session records and transcripts.

1. Governing Responsible AI — Keeping 16 Million People From Being Left Behind

Sessions: Opening plenary 'What governance for a responsible artificial intelligence?' (13 November 2025)

"(I want the FGI to become) a tool that combines discussion with proposals, to make the good and beautiful ideas concrete and operational"
— Nicolas Chagny (co-chair, FGI France organising committee) [5][4][1]

• Jean-François Lucas, general manager of Renaissance Numérique, contrasted mass adoption of generative AI with the roughly 16 million people in France who struggle with digital tools, proposing three 'collective levers' for AI literacy: stronger digital/AI education in initial training, a national conference on digital and AI education, and a shared national skills framework [5][4][1]
• Speakers from CTRL-A, Rainer School and IGN debated how to define responsible AI governance and what blocks inclusive digital participation [5][4][1]
• The organising committee framed the forum as deliberately outward-looking — embracing the societal stakes of digital technology rather than staying 'self-centred' on technical governance [5][4][1]

2. The 2026 New gTLD Round — The Domain Name Space Expands Again

Sessions: ICANN–Afnic panel on the next round of the new gTLD programme

• Christopher Mondini (ICANN managing director), Benjamin Louis (CEO of Sparkling and creator of the .alsace regional TLD) and Pierre Bonis (Afnic CEO) walked participants through ICANN's new gTLD round opening in 2026 [1][2]
• Ahead of the first expansion since 2012, the panel weighed the opportunities and caveats for French cities, businesses and communities [1][2]

3. Twenty Years After WSIS — A National Dialogue in a Milestone Year

Sessions: Cross-cutting theme across plenaries and workshops

• Twenty years after the 2005 Tunis phase of WSIS created the IGF, the forum reflected on its own purpose — a national conversation running in the same year as the UN's WSIS+20 review [2][4]
• Co-chair Nicolas Chagny said in a pre-event interview that the anniversary should push the FGI from pure debate towards an implementation-minded space mixing discussion with proposals [2][4]

4. Workshops on the Future — Post-Quantum, AI in the Territories, and the Right to Disconnect

Sessions: Four 'Ateliers de l'Avenir Numérique' and interactive formats

• Workshops looked past current regulation: AI and the territories, the post-quantum internet (migrating to quantum-resistant encryption), and the right not to use the internet [1][2]
• CollectivZ's interactive game 'ZOE vs ADAM' ran all day in the main hall, letting visitors experience AI tools and collective intelligence, while regulators such as Arcep's Akim Oural joined the sessions — a deliberate shuttle between play and policy [1][2]

Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered

Q. What was the theme?

A. Responsible AI. On the IGF's 20th anniversary, the forum asked how to govern AI and make sure everyone can use it — France counts some 16 million people who struggle digitally, so nationwide AI-literacy mechanisms were proposed.

Q. Any unusual topics?

A. Yes — workshops on the right not to use the internet and on the post-quantum internet. How do you guarantee the freedom to stay offline, and how do you protect encryption in the quantum era? Governance questions from just over the horizon.

Q. Why should I care?

A. ICANN's new gTLD round opening in 2026 gives companies and cities everywhere a shot at their own domain endings, and the migration to quantum-resistant encryption is already on the to-do list of banks and governments worldwide.

What Is France IGF? (for first-time readers)

France IGF is a National or Regional IGF Initiative (NRI), aligning local internet governance discussion with global IGF principles.

Why It Matters to You

What was discussed here becomes the baseline for national digital policy, platform rules and AI regulation worldwide within a few years. The principles confirmed at the 2025 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.

Sources & References

1. Forum sur la Gouvernance de l'Internet France 2025 : le 13 novembre 2025 en Île-de-France et en ligne — Internet Society France (accessed 2026-07-11)
2. The French Internet Governance Forum (FGI France) 2025 — Afnic（解説記事） (accessed 2026-07-11)
3. French Internet Governance Forum 2025 – IGF France（アジェンダ） — Afnic (accessed 2026-07-11)
4. Forum sur la Gouvernance de l'Internet France 2025 : 4 questions à Nicolas Chagny — CFA numiA（インタビュー） (accessed 2026-07-11)
5. Quelle gouvernance pour une IA responsable ?（開幕プレナリー報告） — Renaissance Numérique (accessed 2026-07-11)
6. FGI France 公式サイト（沿革・アーカイブ、2025年版リプレイ） — igf-france.fr (accessed 2026-07-11)

Quotes are translated or condensed from the records listed above. Bracketed numbers [n] refer to the source list.

Related links

• IGF official (NRI list): https://www.intgovforum.org/en/content/national-and-regional-igf-initiatives
• Japan IGF: https://japanigf.jp/
• Yuki Nakazawa's blog: https://nkzw.jp/category/igf/

Revision History

Rev. 1 — published 3 June 2025, 16:00 (Article published)

Rev. 2 — updated 16 July 2026, 20:09 (Fully revised into the in-depth edition: added the 3-line summary, minutes digest, short talk, source list and diagrams (all quotes verified against the listed sources))

— 中澤祐樹