Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, who supports a bill currently under discussion in Parliament to regulate online influence, announced this week that a list of influencers "who have not respected the rules" would be revealed "in the coming days".

Out of 50 controls carried out in the first quarter, 30 influencers were in violation, according to the latest campaign of controls of the DGCCRF, responsible for ensuring the respect of consumer rights, published Wednesday.

"None was transparent about the commercial nature of his approach and the identity of the person on whose behalf he acted," said the institution, which is preparing to issue 18 injunctions to stop illegal practices and 16 criminal reports.

In order to redress the image of a controversial sector, the new Union of Influence and Content Creators (Umicc) published at the end of March a forum in the JDD to ask not to "break the virtuous model" of influencer marketing because of a "minority" of influencers.

Some signatories, among the best known on the web, have dissociated themselves from the text but, on the substance, all seek to stand out from the bad actors and point the finger at the practices of reality TV stars, largely in the minority.

Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire at the National Assembly, May 2, 2023 in Paris © Bertrand GUAY / AFP

"You should know that of the 200,000 creators in France, only 1% are from reality TV," Bastien Tardy, influence expert at Reech, told AFP. "Some respect the rules, others do not respect them, they are overrepresented" in the controversies, according to him.

Influencers from this milieu have, for years, displayed a luxurious lifestyle, assumed for some their tax exile in Dubai and promoted to their often young audience various controversial products, from cryptoassets to cosmetic surgery operations, including gambling.

Reality

On Twitter, rapper Booba has committed himself against those he calls "influencers", alongside a collective "to help victims of influencers".

In a virulent crusade made of personal attacks and unsourced videos, he denounced the practices of Magali Berdah, boss of the agency Shauna Events, specializing in relations between many personalities from TV and brands. Now isolated, she accuses him of cyberbullying.

Influencer Magali Berdah, September 14, 2022 in Paris © Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP/Archives

Unstoppable, Booba recently targets new figures on social networks, including Dylan Thiry, who appeared in the show "Koh Lanta" in 2017, whom he accuses of promoting child trafficking, or Maeva Ghennam ("Les Marseillais"), who announced that she needed a "break".

But these repeated controversies seem far from hampering the prospects of the sector.

According to a study by Reech, carried out in partnership with the Regulatory Authority for Advertising Professionals (ARPP) and the Union des marques (UDM), 78% of advertisers said in 2022 that they plan to increase their budget dedicated to influence.

Globally, the market, which has more than doubled in size since 2019, could be worth $40 billion in 2025, according to Statista. He has been helped by the boom in time spent online during the pandemic and the rise of Tiktok.

The algorithm of the application is particularly adapted to bring out new profiles, a generation of influencers who do not come from television.

Rapper Booba, July 15, 2022 in La Rochelle © ROMAIN PERROCHEAU / AFP/Archives

And brands are adhering: according to a report by influencer marketing firm Izea, revenue per content for influencers with fewer than 200,000 followers has been increasing since 2020, while those of stars with larger audiences are decreasing.

In September, the ARPP, which awards a certification of responsible influence after training, also said that transparency was improving, after sifting through 30,000 pieces of content on Instagram, Youtube or Tiktok.

© 2023 AFP