AI Impact Summit 2026: Macron admired Indian technology, praised PM Modi, made special appeal for children

By Samira Vishwas On Feb 23, 2026

Emmanuel Macron in AI Impact Summit 2026: Many prominent leaders and representatives from around the world participated in the India AI Impact Summit 2026 organized at Bharat Mandapam in the capital New Delhi. In this conference, French President Emmanuel Macron especially praised India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Also, Macron made an important appeal to PM Modi, in which he recommended banning social media for children below 15 years of age.

Macron began his speech with “Namaste” and thanked Prime Minister Modi, saying he was very happy to visit this wonderful city and country of India. He also said that it is an honor for him to participate in this conference. Macron is currently on a tour of India.

India ahead in technology

Highlighting the changes that have taken place in the last 10 years, the French President said that today unprecedented changes have taken place in the technology sector in India. Giving an example, he said that ten years ago a street vendor neither had a bank account nor any identity card, but now the same vendor can accept payments from his phone. This change reflects India’s digital progress.

“Ten years ago, a street vendor in Mumbai could not open a bank account — no address, no documents, no access. Today, that same vendor accepts digital payments on his phone.”
French President Emmanuel Macron, at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, praised PM Modi’s visionary… pic.twitter.com/jvY3UnTziQ
— BJP (@BJP4India) February 19, 2026

Emmanuel Macron also praised the training and potential of India’s AI engineers, saying that India trains millions of AI engineers every year and has the second largest developer community in the world with 500,000 engineers.

Strict rules on children’s social media use

In his speech, Macron appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make strict rules for children on social media. He said that France has closed social media for children below 15 years of age and now he hopes that India will also take steps in this direction.

Also read: AI Impact Summit 2026: Bill Gates’ keynote speech cancelled, now Ankur Vora will address on behalf of Gates Foundation

Macron praised India’s technological success, saying that India has built the world’s largest digital identity and payment system. He called it “India Stack” Said, which is an open interoperable system and is considered a sovereign digital framework.