Mensch urges lawmakers to reject the bill
Arthur Mensch, chief executive officer (CEO) of France's Mistral AI, on Nov. 8 (the same day Japan time) voiced opposition in an article on X to a French bill that would presume copyrighted works were used to train AI. The bill is known as the "Darcos bill" after the senator behind it, and Mensch wrote that he called on lawmakers not to adopt the bill. Instead, he proposed creating a fund for European creation through contributions based on the revenue of all AI providers doing business in Europe.
Où entraînerons-nous la prochaine génération de nos modèles ?
The bill passed the Senate unanimously in April, and the lower house (National Assembly) is scheduled to debate it in a plenary session on Nov. 19. It has not yet become law.
The article's title asks where Mistral will train the next generation of its models. Mensch said the large model "Mistral Large 4," released in October, was trained entirely on the company's own facilities in Bruyères-le-Châtel in the Essonne department south of Paris. He also wrote that the company will build 1 gigawatt of computing capacity over the next few years, mainly in Europe and France (related article).
Bill establishes a rebuttable presumption of use
The bill adopted by the Senate on April 8 adds one article to the Intellectual Property Code. In civil disputes, if evidence (indice) related to the development or deployment of AI or to results output by AI makes use plausible, a work is presumed to have been used by the provider of the AI model or AI system. The presumption applies "unless proven otherwise," and is overturned if the provider shows it did not use the work. What the text presumes is that the work was used; whether that constitutes infringement is decided in court. It also applies to lawsuits ongoing at the time it takes effect (excluding final judgments).
The aim is to ease the burden of proof on rights holders. AI training data is not visible from the outside, making it hard for rights holders to show their works were used. France's music copyright society SACEM says the bill does not create a new right and argues that it allows existing rights to be exercised. The 227 member organizations of CISAC, the international body SACEM belongs to, also called on the French parliament in June to adopt it.
According to French AI outlet ActuIA, France's Council of State (Conseil d'État) found in an opinion on March 19 that the mechanism is compatible with the Constitution and European law.
Mensch says it reverses the burden of proof
Mensch wrote that the bill's purpose is legitimate and that creators must be respected and paid. He then criticized the bill for establishing a presumption of use triggered by mere evidence, reversing the burden of proof. He also argued that proving that a work was not used in data of billions of words would require exposing trade secrets.
Mensch warned that this legal uncertainty would affect the choice of location. He wrote that this risk would be decisive when Mistral chooses where to conduct its research, suggesting it could lead to decisions to place data centers and research sites outside France.
France Digitale, an association of French startups, welcomed the postponement of the debate in June, saying it avoided legal uncertainty that could weaken French AI startups. IT industry association Numeum argued that country-by-country measures should not fragment the EU market.
Rights holders, on the other hand, have pushed back. Alexandre Lasch, managing director of French record producers' association Snep, said equality of arms needed to be restored, and SACEM managing director Cécile Rap-Veber criticized it as a missed opportunity. An op-ed signed by about 20,000 artists and others called the presumption a "concrete answer" to wrongdoing.
Alternative is a revenue-based contribution, with no rate or collection method
The alternative Mensch proposed would create a fund for European creation through contributions based on the revenue of all AI providers doing business in Europe, including foreign companies. He said Mistral is lobbying the European Union (EU) for the proposal and that it is in line with Article 53 of the EU's AI Act. Article 53 requires providers of general-purpose AI models to publish a summary of the content used for training and to put in place a policy to comply with copyright.
The post does not specify the contribution rate, the collection method, how the fund would be distributed, which regions' revenue would be included in the calculation or whether the contribution would be mandatory. It also does not say through which EU procedure the system would be established.
In March, Mensch had also proposed a revenue-based "mandatory contribution" in an op-ed in Britain's Financial Times. According to AFP, the company's vice president for external affairs, Audrey Herblin-Stoop, said at the time that the contribution could be "1% to 5%" of revenue. She said the aim was to gain, in return, legal certainty to use content freely accessible online for training in Europe, and described it as a "first step" in talks with rights holders. The November post does not mention these figures.
A similar proposal has also emerged in the lower house. According to French trade magazine Livres Hebdo, Céline Calvez, a lawmaker from the ruling bloc, proposed in a July 1 report requiring AI providers whose revenue in France exceeds a certain amount to pay contributions, to be distributed to rights holders mainly through collective copyright management organizations. The contribution would not grant permission to use works, and providers that sign contracts with rights holders could reduce their contribution. The rate and the threshold amount have not been set.
Lower house to debate Nov. 19; June debate blocked by amendments
According to the National Assembly's legislative file, the bill is on the agenda for the Nov. 19 plenary session. According to French trade outlet News Tank Culture, it will be debated in the slot on a day when the Socialist group sets the agenda. The lower house's Committee on Cultural Affairs and Education completed its report on the bill on June 2, and the committee's text has been issued. The legislative file lists 110 amendments.
The bill was scheduled to be debated on June 11 in the slot of the left-wing group "Democratic and Republican Left (GDR)." According to Livres Hebdo, about 110 amendments, mainly from the ruling bloc, were filed on the single-article bill, and it was not debated in the time available. AFP reported at the time that the government, which has been focused on fostering the AI industry, was embarrassed amid tensions within the government.
The outcome of the Nov. 19 debate was not available as of Nov. 9.
- Sen. Darcos and others introduce the billOfficial
- Mensch proposes a revenue-based contribution in an FT op-edReport
- Council of State finds it compatible with the Constitution and European lawReport
- Senate passes it unanimouslyOfficial
- Lower house Committee on Cultural Affairs and Education reportsOfficial
- Not debated in lower house plenary due to about 110 amendmentsReport
- Calvez report proposes contributions from AI providersReport
- Mensch urges rejection in an article on XOfficial
- Scheduled debate in lower house plenaryOfficial
Valued at more than 21 billion euros, aiming for 1 gigawatt
Mistral raised 3 billion euros in a Series D on Sept. 8, giving it a post-money valuation of more than 21 billion euros. The round was led by South Korea's Samsung Electronics. AFP reported in March that its valuation was 11.7 billion euros.
The 1-gigawatt plan Mensch outlined does not disclose locations or investment amounts. He also did not say how the choice of locations would change if the bill became law.
According to AFP, French investigative outlet Mediapart reported in February that Mistral had used copyrighted works for training.
