French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon—of the left-wing party La France Insoumise—is pushing for new legislation on digital purchases amid Sony's announcement that it will cease physical game disc production in 2028.

There's a whole host of reasons why this should be worrying: digital purchases are licenses that can be revoked without compensation; no discs mean no second-hand market; games may be delisted or stores may be shuttered, rendering an entire generation completely inaccessible; and a digital-only ecosystem ensures that PlayStation has a total monopoly over the games—and their prices—on its platform. Sony is unlikely to walk back the announcement as work has already begun to repurpose its facilities, but Mélenchon has joined the chorus of those decrying the move.

"With GTA 6 set to be released as a disc-free title in 2026 and Sony's announcement that it will cease sales of physical game discs in 2028, the question arises as to how these products should be regarded," he posted to X (as translated by DeepL). "In the future, you will pay without ever actually owning anything. No loans, no resale, and no guarantee that you will retain what you have paid for. Video games are not merely commodities; they are cultural assets, and current legislation must apply to them. We will launch this campaign in 2027. Gamers have rights too!"

How Much Influence Does Mélenchon Hold?

However, preservation efforts haven't found much success in the political sphere as of late. Just two weeks ago, the European Commission officially responded to the Stop Killing Games movement, explaining that it "cannot propose a legal obligation to keep video games playable after they stop being provided commercially"—dealing a significant blow to the fight for digital ownership. Earlier this week in the United States, the 'Protect Our Games Act' (AB 1921), proposed by California Assemblymember Chris Ward, was likewise stalled in a state senate committee. Nonetheless, SKG remains determined.

As for how much influence Mélenchon actually yields in these matters—and his likelihood to enter the Élysée Palace to enact change—he remains a deeply polarizing figure. While he commands a massive following among young voters, several late-2025 polls ranked him as the political figure attracting the most antipathy from the French electorate. In 2022, he narrowly finished third behind far-right leader Marine Le Pen and President Emmanuel Macron, initially vowing to stand aside to let a younger generation take the reins. He has since walked back that retirement, officially launching a fourth presidential bid for 2027, citing an urgent need to combat a looming "economic and social crisis approaching" spurred on by widespread global conflict and climate change.

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Posts 9 By  James Lucas