"A market with little support from the public authorities": Michel Bensadoun, Agence La Fonderie

How is the French conference market faring?

Michel Bensadoun - The market is quite dynamic, especially in the current economic climate. What is incomprehensible is how little support there is from the public authorities.
The various constraints are a real economic brake! It's becoming complicated to organise a medical congress in France in the face of competition from other destinations such as Vienna or Barcelona.

Could you tell us more?

MR B. - The taxation of medical conferences and incentives penalises the profession without bringing in any significant revenue.
As a result of the industry's lobbying of the government and parliament, the rebate rate for pharmaceutical companies was set at 75 %, compared with the initial rate of 50 %.
When you consider that congresses organised by the medical sector account for 45 % of the congresses held in France and €465.4 million in direct and indirect economic spin-offs, it's easy to see the impact of this measure...
Another impact on the medical sector is the obligation of transparency.

Do you have any idea of the repercussions on the industry?

MR B. - According to our barometer for the first quarter of 2013, these measures, including those allowing up to 50 % to be taxed on the amount allocated to an incentive operation, will have a negative impact on agencies' sales. 54 % of them estimate this drop at around 10 %. In addition, with Brussels having ruled in favour of Paris for its system of VAT on the margin, French agencies find themselves at a disadvantage compared with their European counterparts. Companies will no longer be able to reclaim their VAT if they use a French organiser!