In 2023, the NFT Paris conference was held in the luxurious Grand Palais Ephemere, located on the Champ de Mars, in the heart of the French capital. The organizers expected to see about 10,000 visitors, and they lived up to their expectations. The event was also attended by many prominent figures from the local political scene, in particular Jean-Noël Barrot, French Minister Delegate for Digital Transition and Telecommunications, and First Lady BrigitteMacron.
The Minister gave an opening speech, highlighting France’s pioneering role in the development of regulatory rules for the Web3 sector and its participation in the pan-European work on the MiCa bill. The politician noted that the full implementation of NFTs in French and European regulations is only a matter of time. “France is now the most dynamic place in the European Web3 ecosystem and possibly in the world,” Jean-Noël Barrot said at the end of his speech.
Brigitte Macron was also present at the event and then joined the Minister for a panel discussion organized by the Women in Web3 (WIW3) Venture Community, “dedicated to empowering, connecting, and educating women in the Web3 space.” Notably, the cryptocurrency community has been making significant efforts to attract women to the blockchain industry.
In addition to prominent political figures, representatives of hundreds of private companies involved in the cryptocurrency industry, including major local blockchain projects such as Ledger and The Sandbox, met on the sidelines of NFT Paris. They actively discussed the current situation in the NFT market and options for its development, as well as presented innovative products and technologies.
However, what attracted the most attention at NFT Paris was the three-meter statue of a Smurf that stood at the entrance to the main hall. The statue was completely white during the opening of the conference, but within two days, it was completely painted with spray paint by the French artist André Saraiva, best known for his graffiti artwork. The statue ended up being the final lot in an online auction on the NFT marketplace Rarible. A total of 12,500 NFTs featuring images of Smurfs were pre-sold there. “The statue was printed from recycled ocean plastic, and all proceeds from the auction will go to charities related to our beautiful planet to keep it as blue as the Smurfs themselves,” Rarible officials noted after the auction was completed.
NFT Paris was held in the French capital on February 24 and 25, but CP Media published a short report about it just now, ahead of another important crypto event that will take place in Paris on March 20-25 — Paris Blockchain Week 2023.
