France Meetings

Temples of rugby during the weekend, France's rugby stadiums also vibrate - differently - during the week. As well as the grandstands that naturally allow them to host large-scale events, these multi-purpose venues invest in more exclusive areas. Here's a six-stop tour of France, before finishing with a...

Béziers is on the move! Facing Saint-Nazaire cathedral and its new forecourt, the La Prison hotel opened its doors at the end of May after two years' work by the Mando Hospitality group. Aptly named, this 3-star establishment is housed in a former prison dating back to the 18th century, which was...

Following last year's inauguration of Station Cosmos, a 4-star hotel with 76 rooms on the theme of space, this week Futuroscope is opening Ecolodgee. This unclassified but 3* establishment of 120 ultra-cosy wooden lodges - but without air conditioning or TV! - It required the creation of a landscaped park, islands...

Exhibitors and visitors from abroad are back at Paris Region and French trade shows, or will be in the near future. This is the good news to come out of a study published on Monday 26 June 2023 on the "new behaviour of international business customers at French trade fairs". The survey was conducted by the "Copil Congrès...

It's the next logical step for a destination that wants to demonstrate its commitment to eco-responsibility. Already ISO 9001 (Quality) and ISO 18788 (Safety and Security) certified from 2019, the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes was awarded the ISO 20121 (Responsible Events) label last year. These prerequisites now enable it to achieve the...

Nearly three months after work was completed, the new MICE facilities at the Village Club du Soleil were unveiled in mid-June. The operator, which was founded in Marseille in the early 1960s, has invested to give a new dimension to the corporate side of its Phocaean site. It will have cost some 350,000...

Employees scattered like jigsaw puzzles, management split up, teams struggling to find each other: the changing world of work, accelerated by the pandemic, is turning companies' habits upside down. In some cases, companies have simply abandoned the idea of having offices and switched to full remote working. This is nothing new, but this...

Put on hold for the past four years, the Coach Omnium study of the French MICE market is back in action, as is the activity itself. A "resurrection", as Marc Watkins, the firm's founder, describes it, made possible by a new partnership with the 1001 Salles Group. As industry experts have discovered...

Having emerged from the pandemic a year ago, events professionals have returned to near-normal activity as 2022 progresses, close to that recorded in 2019. The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes, host of this year's Heavent Meetings show, is expecting to host 140 events this year for a total of...

Belambra is providing further proof of the sustained growth of the MICE sector in France. The French leader in holiday clubs will be dedicating four of its sites entirely to business customers during the peak seminar season. In May and June on the one hand, and in September-October on the other, the clubs at Anglet, La Grande Motte,...

After two years of pandemic, including eleven months of total inactivity, the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes has finally returned to normal activity since its reopening in March 2022. "We're back to pre-Covid levels, with 63 deals signed by the end of March and a profitable business once again. 2023 will be...

Last January, SPL Occitanie Events was awarded ISO 20121 certification at the end of a process launched two years earlier. The destination thus joined a growing club, alongside the Nantes and Saint-Nazaire Convention Bureau, the Bordeaux Convention and Exhibition Centre and Lille Grand Palais.

Business at all Paris Region trade fairs from 2019 to 2022 (Source: CCI Paris Île-de-France) The CCI Paris Île-de-France has published a mixed picture in its barometer of business at Paris Region trade fairs in 2022. It all depends on the yardstick used to measure the recovery from the previous year. Pointing to...

The announcement was made official on 31 January by the Metropolitan Council. Rouen is to get a Convention Centre by 2030-2031. The "Lapeyre" site has been chosen as the location for this new infrastructure, which will contribute to the transformation of the west of Rouen. It will include an amphitheatre with a capacity of 1,000 seats,...

Burgundy-Franche Comté occupies a prime position when it comes to business tourism in France. This success is based on its accessibility, modern meeting and conference facilities, places steeped in history and culture, addresses offering undeniable hospitality, not to mention its remarkable wine-growing terroirs and renowned gastronomy. For reasons of...

On Tuesday 4 October, Marseille will be hosting Séminaires Business Events at the Friche de la Belle de Mai. This trade show dedicated to business tourism will bring together 80 exhibitors from the south-east of France, including a number of events professionals from the City of Marseille, which has become a key MICE destination. And with business in the city picking up again...

The plan has been known for several months, and on Tuesday Comet confirmed the imminent arrival of a new site within its Paris catalogue. The new Comet Lumière site will be located at 40 avenue des Terroirs de France in Bercy, "at the end of 2022", according to management. It will be housed in the eponymous building, presented...

It's more than just a beautiful building. The new Strasbourg Exhibition Centre, inaugurated at the beginning of September, consolidates Strasbourg's ambitions. A major European crossroads, the Eurometropolis between France and Germany is now seeking to become a model for sustainable urban development. "The new Exhibition Centre is a concrete expression of the ambitions of a city that is asserting itself as one of...

The Jost, a new Bordeaux hotel just a stone's throw from the TGV station, is about to open its doors. From 1 August, business travellers will have access to its 98 rooms. And in September, MICE customers will be able to take possession of the "Lieu Chéri". This is a 300 sq. m. events space, which can be...

The eco-responsible orientation of the corporate events sector continues. Following on from Lille Grand Palais and Zénith de Lille in mid-June, Biarritz Tourisme and its convention centres - Espace Bellevue, Casino Municipal, Théâtre de la Gare du Midi and Halle d'Iraty - have also just received ISO 20121 certification. Committed for several years to...