France has passed a legislative decree establishing the bases of the professional scene of esports in the country. It directly affects the French Digital Law, with two concise articles but opening important opportunities for the sector.

As a first inclusion to be taken into account, the professional video game player is defined as someone who competes within the scope of an association or company authorized by the Digital Ministry in exchange for a remuneration.

Protection for the professional players

The contracts of these players will be in all cases temporary, and may not exceed five years of duration because most of them usually retire before the age of 30. Contracts may be drawn up for not less than 12 months, except for specific cases of substitution of players, suspension of contracts or for competitions that last less time.

Other regulations affect children under 12 years of age, who may not participate in monetized tournaments, but nevertheless those are measures to protect employees in "video game competitions", without mentioning their sporting nature at any time.

Although brief, this is the first legislation in the field of esports made by a European government, and could open the debate in other neighboring countries to decide to adopt similar measures and begin to regularize the sector in order to give it the professional threatment it needs and deserves.