Cybersecurity, AI and Sovereignty: Mastering the Digital Future at FranSec 2026

Cybersecurity Leaders and Experts to Address Digital Sovereignty, AI Governance and Ransomware Resilience in Paris

Princeton, NJ – FranSec, hosted by QG Media, an ISMG company, returns to Paris for its seventh edition on Sept. 16 and 17, 2026. Conducted primarily in French, the summit will convene CISOs and cybersecurity leaders from sectors including banking, automotive, utilities and manufacturing to address the evolving challenges reshaping France’s security landscape.

This two-day agenda spans keynote presentations, panel discussions, case studies and debates built around five core themes:

• Strengthening digital sovereignty without stifling innovation;
• Adopting AI responsibly through governance, accountability and oversight;
• Aligning risks, resilience and regulatory requirements with business priorities;
• Building AI-ready security teams;
• Fortifying resilience against increasingly sophisticated cyberthreats.

Day 1 kicks off with the opening speech by Major General Patrick Touak, head of the Ministry of the Interior’s Cyber Command, COMCYBER-MI.

The opening keynote is followed by the panel discussion “How Can CISOs Successfully Manage Digital Sovereignty in a Fragmented World?” Moderated by Christophe Guillarme, IT operations director and CISO at Lagardère Travel Retail France, the discussion will bring together Nicolas Hanteville, CISO at Klépierre; Pierre Belin, CISO in the insurance sector; and Cédric Cartau, CISO and DPO at Nantes University Hospital. The panel will examine how organizations are reconciling sovereignty requirements, from cloud strategy to vendor dependencies, with growth and international competitiveness amid shifting sanctions, export controls and regulatory divergence.

Cartau returns for a dedicated session, “Anticipating and Responding to a Modern Ransomware Attack,” drawing on real-world incident response experience to explore the decision-making, coordination and communication challenges organizations face during ransomware attacks, and how lessons from real-world response exercises can strengthen recovery preparedness and stakeholder confidence.

Rounding out the sovereignty track, on Day 2, Patrick Prosper, group CISO at Groupama, will lead the session “The Practical Aspects of a Migration Towards Digital Sovereignty,” moving the conversation beyond policy to the operational trade-offs that organizations encounter when reducing dependence on external technology ecosystems.

“French CISOs are operating in a landscape where cybersecurity, technology strategy and geopolitics can no longer be treated as separate conversations,” said Kudsia Kaker, managing director at QG Media. “Decisions about cloud providers, AI vendors and data residency now carry sovereignty and compliance implications that were far less pronounced just a few years ago. FranSec 2026 exists to give security leaders practical guidance for navigating that tension – not just the regulatory theory, but how their peers are actually making these trade-offs day to day, from vendor dependencies to ransomware response to AI governance.”

As France advances its national AI and cybersecurity agenda alongside evolving EU frameworks such as NIS2, FranSec 2026 offers CISOs a forum to benchmark strategies with peers and translate policy pressure into operational readiness. Beyond the conference program, attendees will receive access to CPE certification, post-event content and an annual report on cybersecurity in France, along with extended networking opportunities with sector peers and solution providers.

To view the full agenda and register for the event, click here.

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About ISMG
Information Security Media Group (ISMG) is the world’s largest media organization devoted solely to cybersecurity, information technology, artificial intelligence and operational technology. Each of our 38 media properties provides education, research and news that is specifically tailored to key vertical sectors including banking, healthcare and the public sector; geographies from North America to Southeast Asia; and topics such as data breach prevention, cyber risk assessment, OT security, AI and fraud. Our annual global summit series connects senior security professionals with industry thought leaders to find actionable solutions for pressing cybersecurity challenges.

About QG Media
QG Media is an international provider of cutting-edge B2B conferences and digital content for technology leaders. Focusing on cybersecurity and IoT, QG brings together business leaders to demonstrate thought leadership through content-driven presentations, interviews and webinars. The success of any QG Media event lies in providing expertly curated programs, inviting industry-leading speakers, along with offering extensive networking opportunities to promote collaboration and drive innovation.

About ISMG Events
ISMG Events is a premier platform for security professionals and practitioners worldwide. Our global, annual events bring together the ISMG Events Community, comprising over 40,000 members, to exchange knowledge, insights and best practices in the field of cybersecurity. The cornerstone of our event portfolio is the ISMG Global Summit Series. These summits take place both virtually and in-person, offering participants a diverse range of topics to explore. In addition to our Global Summit Series, ISMG Events hosts exclusive Executive Roundtables that are closed-door, topic-focused discussions that provide practitioners with a collaborative environment to address today’s most pressing security concerns.