The Games Behind the Games

« An empowered citizen today helps create a more resilient society tomorrow. And resilience begins when complex subjects are made understandable without being reduced to slogans. »

Cybersecurity, Trust and the Hidden Architecture of Sport

BrandIndia Exclusive — From VivaTech 2026 to a conversation with Clément Migeon, Director of the Cybersecurity Division of the CNOSF, France’s National Olympic and Sports Committee

On Day 2 of VivaTech 2026, our focus was cybersecurity and digital sovereignty. Through Kaushik’s movement across the floor, BrandIndia.fr followed the subject from several angles: GovTech and the democratic organisation of public-sector meetings; Aikido Security and the prevention of software vulnerabilities; the EU–India discussion on sovereign digital infrastructure; Publicis/Razorfish’s warning that AI-generated content may weaken trust even as it accelerates production; and Bpifrance’s reminder that cybersecurity must now be built from the first line of code.

The day left us with one clear impression: technology is opening new possibilities, but it is also creating the very complications that institutions must now learn to govern.

This is where cybersecurity becomes more than a technical issue. It becomes a question of public trust, democratic resilience and human responsibility. If digital sovereignty is discussed on stage, it is tested inside real institutions especially in sport, where millions of people gather, watch, travel, pay, connect and believe in the same shared moment.

To understand what this means beyond rhetoric, I turned to Clément Migeon, Director of the Cybersecurity Division of the CNOSF, France’s National Olympic and Sports Committee, for a candid conversation on Paris 2024, ransomware, supply chains, AI-enabled threats, crisis management and the human factor.

I was not sure the interview would be possible. His schedule was tight, the subject is sensitive, and we are living through a period where cybersecurity, institutional reputation and information warfare constantly overlap. There are also limits to what can be said publicly, and rightly so. But precisely because of those limits, it felt necessary to ask direct questions and receive answers from someone who had lived the Olympic cycle from inside a sporting institution.

I did not want to approach cybersecurity only through the usual heavy strategic vocabulary, the kind often associated with national agencies, defence structures or high-level cyber doctrine. Those dimensions matter deeply. But sport offers another entry point. It speaks to everyone. It is public, emotional, democratic and massively followed. It allows us to understand cybersecurity not only as a matter of State protection, but as a matter of everyday trust.

An empowered citizen today helps create a more resilient society tomorrow. And resilience begins when complex subjects are made understandable without being reduced to slogans.

This interview is therefore not only a technical exchange. It is part of a legacy design: to understand what Paris 2024 transmitted, what remains fragile, and how major public events can continue to stay open in a world where openness itself has become a security challenge.

Interview with Clément Migeon

Director of the Cybersecurity Division of the CNOSF, France’s National Olympic and Sports Committee

Writtwik: Thanks a lot Clément for agreeing to do this interview with me today. In your view, what was the main cybersecurity challenge during the Olympic cycle: protecting infrastructure, coordinating between stakeholders, or human vulnerability?
Selon vous, quel a été le principal défi cybersécuritaire durant le cycle olympique : la protection des infrastructures, la coordination entre acteurs ou la vulnérabilité humaine ?

Clément: For the National Olympic Committee of a country hosting the Games, the first challenge is certainly dealing with a cyber threat that can be disproportionate. For many external actors, we are often associated with the organising committee, whereas our actions are completely different, as are our resources.

Writtwik: Ransomware attacks now affect entire ecosystems. How does an institution such as the CNOSF prepare for a scenario in which sporting operations themselves could be disrupted?
Les attaques par ransomware touchent désormais des écosystèmes entiers. Comment une institution comme le CNOSF se prépare-t-elle à un scénario où les opérations sportives elles-mêmes pourraient être perturbées ?

Clément: Ransomware attacks are indeed very present. With the help of ANSSI and private partners, we managed to move into a resilience-oriented approach ahead of the Paris 2024 Games. We segmented our information systems and strengthened our backup policy so that we would be able to resume activity, even in degraded mode. Cyber crisis exercises were also organised to prepare all CNOSF business teams as effectively as possible.

Writtwik: Major sporting events depend on a considerable number of subcontractors and digital service providers. Is the supply chain now the main point of cyber fragility?
Les grands événements sportifs reposent sur un nombre considérable de sous-traitants et de prestataires numériques. La chaîne d’approvisionnement constitue-t-elle aujourd’hui le principal point de fragilité cyber ?

Clément: Yes, clearly. Supply-chain attacks are now one of the main attack vectors. Within this chain, the CNOSF itself acted as a partner of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, and in that capacity we remained vigilant and worked in collaboration with them.

Writtwik: Are generative artificial intelligence tools for instance deepfakes, automated phishing, synthetic identities already changing your perception of the cyber threat?
Les outils d’intelligence artificielle générative — deepfakes, phishing automatisé, identités synthétiques — modifient-ils déjà votre perception de la menace cyber ?

Clément: It is obvious that AI tools play a major role in current cyber threats. Increased awareness among our staff regarding the detection of phishing, or any other attack of this type, plays a predominant role in this area. Other cybersecurity tools integrating AI are beginning to emerge and are very promising.

Writtwik: What did cooperation with French cybersecurity institutions teach you about crisis management during a highly visible international event?
Que vous a appris la coopération avec les institutions françaises de cybersécurité sur la gestion de crise lors d’un événement international à très forte visibilité ?

Clément: The support provided by French State services in the field of cybersecurity was extremely valuable to us. Thanks to them, we were able to carry out a half-day cyber crisis exercise that brought together all CNOSF functions likely to be affected by an incident.

Writtwik: In your experience, what remains the most complex challenge today: technology, governance or the human factor?
Dans votre expérience, quel reste aujourd’hui le défi le plus complexe : la technologie, la gouvernance ou le facteur humain ?

Clément: Technology is, paradoxically, the most manageable part: it has a budget, a roadmap and solutions. The real knot lies between governance and the human factor, and the two are linked. Governance, because a common requirement has to be kept alive across different business departments, without direct hierarchical authority over most of them. The human factor, because no technical system can sustainably compensate for a click, a shared password, or vigilance that fades once the event is over. If I had to choose, I would say that the human factor is the most difficult risk to reduce over time, because it has to be constantly maintained. It requires a great deal of pedagogy and support.

Writtwik: Has Paris 2024 permanently transformed the cybersecurity approach of French sporting institutions, or is there a risk of loss of momentum after the event?
Paris 2024 a-t-il durablement transformé l’approche cybersécuritaire des institutions sportives françaises ou existe-t-il un risque d’essoufflement après l’événement ?

Clément: Paris 2024 primarily made it possible to pass on a cyber approach to a number of institutions and to spread good practices. Now, the results sometimes take time to become visible, as some systems carry significant technological debt, and sport remains mainly focused on the human dimension.

Writtwik: Thank you Clément.

Clément: Merci beaucoup Ritt!

Editorial Note

Clément Migeon’s answers are presented here within the limits of what can reasonably be discussed in a public forum on cybersecurity. The objective is not to disclose operational details, but to understand the broader lessons of Paris 2024 for public trust, institutional resilience and the future of major sporting events.

His responses underline one essential point: cybersecurity is not only a matter of technology. It is also a question of proportion, governance and human behaviour. An institution may not be the main organiser of an event, yet it can still be perceived as part of the target. It may not operate like a defence agency, yet it must increasingly adopt reflexes of strategic resilience: anticipation, segmentation, backup, crisis exercises, coordination with State actors and continuous awareness. In my opinion, this is where VivaTech 2026 and the CNOSF interview converge.

On the exhibition floor, the language was innovation: AI, digital sovereignty, cybersecurity by design and trusted infrastructure. In the CNOSF interview, I wanted in a way that the language becomes operational: ransomware, supply-chain exposure, technological debt and the human factor.

The challenge is not to turn sport into a fortress. It is to make sure that people can still gather, watch, travel, celebrate and trust what they see without turning openness into an invitation to collapse.

Acknowledgements and Methodological Note

This interview would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of Christophe Moreaux, CFO of the CNOSF, whose openness helped make this exchange possible.
I am also grateful to sources familiar with the French cybersecurity ecosystem, including institutional perspectives linked to ANSSI, France’s national cybersecurity agency. Their insights helped me better understand, within the limits of a journalistic and non-technical inquiry, the challenges of trust, resilience and digital vulnerability.
Special thanks to Kaushik Kalyan Kotte, who moved across the VivaTech 2026 floor on 18 June, from stand to stand and session to session, collecting field observations, event notes and daily inputs on cybersecurity, digital sovereignty and AI governance for BrandIndia.fr.
ChatGPT Pro by OpenAI was used as an analytical support tool for text alignment, semantic structuring, terminology refinement, synthesis of complex arguments and simplification of technical concepts for a broader readership. The editorial framing, interview questions, interpretation, final selection and publication responsibility remain entirely with BrandIndia.fr.

VivaTech 2026: First Contact on the Champs-Élysées

« I could not stop asking myself: can a machine understand memory? Can a prompt carry enough of a feeling to become a perfume? Maybe the answer is not simple. But what I saw was clear. People were curious. They were ready to try. They were ready to give a part of their imagination to a machine and receive something personal in return. »

When Technology Steps Into the City

By Kaushik Kalyan Kotte
Photography and Visual Documentation, Brandindia.fr

Before the industry leaders arrive, before the main stages open, and before VivaTech becomes a full professional universe of keynotes, investors, founders and global conversations, there was this first contact on the Champs-Élysées.

I was in fact asked to do what felt like a simple assignment: take photographs, observe the space, and document every aspect of the VivaTech teaser on the Champs-Élysées. I thought my role would remain behind the camera. I would look, frame, capture and move on.

But little did I know that Writtwik would ask me to go beyond the photographs and write the curtain-raiser of the summit through my own eyes!

That was not expected. I have always seen myself more as a visual person than as someone who writes. Recently, I had gone to watch Spielberg’s latest film, Disclosure Day, and in a strange way, this assignment felt like my own small disclosure. To be asked to turn my visuals into a story, and that too a written one, came almost like a shock. I wouldn’t say that this was a negative shock, but the kind that shakes your comfort zone and makes you realise that maybe you have something to say beyond the image.

So this piece is not written as an expert report on technology. It is my first attempt to look at VivaTech through the eyes of someone who came with a camera, but slowly realised that the camera was also asking him questions.

On 14 June, 2026 one of the most symbolic avenues of Paris became something slightly different. People who may have come simply to walk near the Arc de Triomphe suddenly found themselves inside a public preview of the future.

From a higher view, especially from the rooftop of the Maison du Danemark, the imposing Danish House, the stalls were arranged into the letters “VIVATECH”, with the Arc de Triomphe in the background. It was a very strong visual moment for me.. There were families, children, visitors, tourists, professionals, photographers, and people who were not necessarily expecting to meet technology in this way.

As a photographer and videographer for Brandindia.fr, I felt a real pleasure to enter this space with my camera. For me, the camera was not only a tool to capture an event. It became a way of observing how people react when innovation leaves the exhibition hall and comes into public life.

The first thing that struck me was the atmosphere. It was not a closed technology conference. It was open, visual, almost theatrical. The Champs-Élysées became a stage, and technology became part of the street. Children and elders were equally attracted by the installations. Some people were trying to understand what they were seeing. Others were simply filming it on their phones. Around me, there was excitement, confusion, surprise, and that very human desire to go closer to anything that shines, moves, speaks or promises something new.

One of the most fascinating installations was the algorithmic perfume experience. People were not choosing a perfume from a normal catalogue. They were writing a prompt. A memory, a feeling, a person, a place, or an emotion. The machine then interpreted the words and created a fragrance in real time. As someone coming from a visual and creative background, I found this very interesting. It made me think about how far artificial intelligence is entering the world of sensory experience. We often speak about AI producing texts, images or videos, but here it was trying to translate emotion into smell.

I could not stop asking myself: can a machine understand memory? Can a prompt carry enough of a feeling to become a perfume? Maybe the answer is not simple. But what I saw was clear. People were curious. They were ready to try. They were ready to give a part of their imagination to a machine and receive something personal in return.

Then came the robots.

There was a small humanoid robot moving through the crowd, almost at the height of a child. What stayed with me was not only the robot itself, but the faces of the children looking at it. They were not laughing in a simple way. They were not afraid either. They were studying it very seriously, as if they were trying to understand whether this thing belonged to their world or to another one. For me, this was one of the strongest visual moments of the afternoon.

Later, the robot demonstration became a real street performance. Two humanoid robots and two robotic dogs moved in front of the public, with the Arc de Triomphe in the background. The operators almost felt like modern snake charmers, guiding machines instead of animals, creating a circle of attention in the middle of the city. The robots danced, gestured and interacted. The crowd followed every movement.

As a photographer, I was trying to capture not only the robots, but the relationship between the robots and the people around them. That relationship is where the story is. Technology alone is impressive, but technology inside human space becomes more meaningful. The faces, the gestures, the distance people keep, the way they lean forward, the way they record, the way children look directly and adults look through their screens — all of this tells us something about the time we are entering.

I also noticed technologies created to assist people with mobility or physical challenges. This was important for me because innovation should not only be about spectacle. It should also be about support, accessibility and dignity. When technology helps a person move, participate or experience a public space with more freedom, it becomes more than a product. It becomes part of human evolution.

Gitana: an offshore racing stable founded by Baron Benjamin de Rothschild

That is why, for me, this first VivaTech encounter was not only about photographing an event. It was about capturing a projection of human evolution.

At the same time, I also felt that the experience could become overwhelming. There was always another object, another screen, another demonstration, another crowd gathering around the newest thing. Innovation as spectacle can be powerful, but after a while it also raises a question: what remains after the surprise?

This is where I feel Brandindia.fr gives me a special space. It allows me not only to capture images, but to participate in a deeper visual and editorial narrative. I chose to work with Brandindia.fr because it does not look at technology only as a trend. It looks at technology as part of culture, diplomacy, business, creativity, ethics and human behaviour. For someone like me, coming from visual merchandising, spatial design and creative direction, this is important. I am interested in how things are placed, how people move around them, how brands create emotion, and how spaces tell stories.

Photo from the press kit of VivaTech 2025

VivaTech on the Champs-Élysées gave me exactly that kind of story. It was a designed space, but also a public emotion. It was branding, but also curiosity. It was technology, but also theatre. It was Paris, but also the world arriving in Paris.

The main VivaTech event from 17 to 20 June at Porte de Versailles will now take this first contact much further. The leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, investors and visionaries will come with their ideas, their products and their ambitions. I am looking forward to capturing not only what they show, but also what they represent. What kind of future are they proposing? Who is included in that future? Who is watching from outside? What is useful, what is beautiful, what is ethical, and what is simply impressive for a few seconds?

The Champs-Élysées preview was only a beginning. It gave me the first images, the first questions and the first emotion.

Now I am ready to go deeper into VivaTech 2026, with my camera, with curiosity, and with gratitude to Brandindia.fr and to my mentor Writtwik Banerjee for believing in my eye and giving me this opportunity.

For me, the future is not only something to be announced on a stage. It is something to be observed in people’s faces.

Acknowledgements

This article is based on my own observations, photographs and field experience during the VivaTech 2026 preview on the Champs-Élysées. Editorial and AI-assisted tools were used transparently to help match the visual material with the written narrative, and refine the overall flow. The purpose was to support the transformation of a visual assignment into a written piece, without replacing my own experience or point of view. I also thank Writtwik for encouraging me to look beyond the camera and develop this visual experience into a written story. Images used from the VivaTech press kit are mentioned where applicable. No AI-generated image has been used as documentary photography.