France takes esports lead as Paris wins Counter-Strike tournament
It is an age-old rivalry but with a 21st-century twist. Britain and France are competing to win over the world’s best professional video gamers as each seeks global prominence in esports.
President Macron had cause for cheer yesterday. His efforts to secure a prominent esports tournament for France had proved successful and his favourite professional video gamers, Team Vitality, had reached the final.
The French drive to promote itself as Europe’s esports capital is, however, causing irritation in Britain, where it is suspected of pursuing a go-it-alone strategy that favours money over medals. The video game industry as a whole is worth about $200 billion a year. Esports, which involve competitions where gamers play against each other, represent a small percentage of that but they
