Netflix calls for overhaul of French streaming investment rules
June 30, 2026 12.19 Europe/London By Julian Clover


Netflix is calling on the French government to reform media regulations, warning that mandatory investment requirements are placing an increasingly disproportionate financial burden on global streaming platforms.

France is one of Netflix’s largest international markets, with more than 15 million subscribers. The company says it has invested over €1.7 billion in the French creative economy since 2021, supporting more than 25,000 jobs, including around €250 million in French productions during 2025 alone.

At the centre of the dispute is France’s SMAD decree, which requires major streaming services to reinvest around a quarter of their French revenues into local and European productions. Netflix and Disney+ have both challenged the latest rules, objecting to new quotas that earmark spending for specific genres such as animation and live performance.

Netflix wants the government to introduce a cap on its investment obligations, arguing that as traditional broadcasters cut back on commissioning, international streaming services are being expected to fund an ever-growing share of France’s creative sector. Netflix France’s Vice President of Content, Pauline Dauvin, warned that by 2030 the country’s creative industries could become overly reliant on foreign streaming companies, calling the current model “not sustainable”.