There are concerns French President Emmanuel Macron is using the Christchurch Call summit to save his own political career.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is in Paris to convince tech giants and governments around the world to take online terror and hate speech seriously. She's been successful so far, getting 15 other countries, the European Commission and eight tech giants on board, including Facebook and Google.
"I know what we are doing isn't simple, and that our goal - of eliminating the upload of this kind of content - is ambitious, but it is also necessary," Ardern said overnight.
The summit comes two months after 51 people were killed by an alleged white supremacist at two mosques in Christchurch. Ardern's handling of the aftermath has received worldwide acclaim. Just a week after the attack, her visage lit up the Burj Khalifa in Dubai - the world's tallest building.
Praise has also been forthcoming from the Dalai Lama ("She is wonderful"), the New York Times editorial board ("America deserves a leader as good as Jacinda Ardern"), Oprah Winfrey ("We have to make the choice every single day to channel our own inner Jacindas"), Hillary Clinton ("She showed the heart not only of a leader, but of a mother") and Fortune (naming Ardern the second-best leader in the world, behind philanthropic duo Bill and Melinda Gates).
"You've got to remember her support outside of New Zealand is huge," French correspondent Oliver Miocic told The AM Show from Paris on Thursday morning (NZ time), following a speech by Ardern in which she urged political and industry leaders to up their game.
"People look to Jacinda Ardern all over the world with admiration. She is the first Prime Minister in New Zealand - and one of the first Prime Ministers across the world - to have a baby in office; she's dealt with the Christchurch attack in a very magnanimous way, the way she's brought the community together. The feeling on the streets here is Jacinda Ardern has done very well indeed."
- Ardern admits NZ's been too focused on Islamic extremism
- Warnings about threat from white supremacists were ignored
Co-host Macron isn't inspiring such hope, however. Parisian streets have been filled with protesters for months now, and the French President's approval rating is in the mid-20s.
"There are some critics and sceptics though who believe President Macron is just trying to ride on her coattails, because he has been plummeting in the polls due to domestic problems, including those yellow vest protests," said Miocic.
"So there is some concern... that Macron might just be trying to get some of that gold dust off Jacinda Ardern."
In the 2017 election campaign, then-National leader Bill English dismissed Ardern's growing popularity with voters as "stardust". Ardern famously shot back, "This stardust won't settle."
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