Mechanisms of Political Discourse: A Semio-Critical Analysis of Emmanuel Macron’s Address on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Sovereignty at the Paris Summit

Abstract

This study investigates the semio-discursive and multimodal strategies deployed by French President Emmanuel Macron during his address at the Paris AI Action Summit (February 10, 2025). Grounded in Charaudeau’s semio-critical approach, Verón’s enunciative framework, and Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the research examines how executive discourse articulates lexical structuring, argumentative postures, and spatial scenography at the Grand Palais to construct political legitimacy. The findings reveal a multi-layered persuasive architecture combining logos, pathos, and a projected fourfold ethos (Managerial, Statesman, Paternal, and Humanist). By framing Artificial Intelligence through the dual imperatives of ethical regulation and “digital sovereignty”, the discourse seeks to position France and the European Union as central leaders of a normative “third way” between American market hegemony and Chinese state-centric control. Crucially, the study demonstrates how this discursive strategy anticipates broader geopolitical realignments, serving as a conceptual precursor to subsequent strategic digital partnerships, such as the Canada–European Union alignment (European Commission, 2023; Prime Minister of Canada, 2023). Beyond its international ambitions, the address functions as a symbolic mechanism designed to bypass domestic political friction and restore executive authority.