From demonization to recognition : Electronic music enters the intangible cultural heritage

Electronic music, once marginalized and even demonized, reached a historic milestone on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, by being officially added to the inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

This institutional recognition, which encompasses everything from the pioneering Ondes Martenot to the quintessential « French touch, » marks the first essential step before a potential application to UNESCO’s prestigious list, a project to which the President of the Republic had already expressed his support last June.

This initiative aims to enshrine a movement that unites global figures in the electronic music scene, from Jean-Michel Jarre to Justice, and testifies to the vitality of a culture now perceived as a pillar of French artistic influence.

The Intangible Cultural Heritage, which encompasses practices, skills, and traditions passed down from generation to generation, is enriched this year with fourteen new additions illustrating the diversity of the region.

Alongside synthetic rhythms, we now find Parisian haute couture, the debaa of Mayotte women (a blend of song and dance), Guadeloupean Creole quadrilles, agricultural fairs in the Doubs region, chjam’è rispondi (the art of Corsican poetic jousting), and demoscène, a popular digital creation movement.

By integrating these artistic expressions, France recognizes the importance of preserving knowledge that, although intangible, shapes the national cultural identity.

For the « French touch », this inscription validates decades of sonic innovation and international influence, transforming the former outcasts of raves into true guardians of a living heritage to be protected for future generations.