France Meetings

The digital strategy of the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes is taking a new turn at the start of the 2021 academic year. Having officially joined the international Hybrid City Alliance network, the famous conference centre is now equipped with an infrastructure that embodies these new ambitions in concrete terms. The Hi5 studio was unveiled on 3 September last, offering...

It's certainly a meeting place in tune with the times, at a time when companies and organisers are looking to strengthen the sustainable dimension of their events. A huge rooftop combining spaces for conferences and cocktails, as well as a trendy restaurant and bar - Le Perchoir -, all extended by a terrace of...

After 15 months of closure, how do you see the business resuming? Pablo Nakhle Cerrutti - For Viparis, 2021 will be very much like 2020. Last year, we worked from January to mid-March, i.e. for two and a half months, with some additional activity in September. In 2021, we'll be...

Has the resumption of seminar business at your hotel, the Château de Maffliers Demeures de Campagne, lived up to your expectations? Arnaud Feucherolles - We're fairly relaxed about the months ahead, especially as we've been almost overwhelmed by requests since 19 May. I've even had to...

Just a 50-minute drive from Paris and thirty minutes from Roissy airport, Royaumont Abbey is not just a cultural and artistic centre dedicated to dance and music. Founded in 1228 by Louis IX, the future Saint-Louis, it is also a major venue for seminars and events. This activity...

Since its inauguration at the beginning of 1967, the sleek lines of the Versailles Palais des Congrès have interacted with the emblematic château just a stone's throw away, weaving a discreet link between the Trente Glorieuses and the Grand Siècle. The doyen of French convention centres, Versailles Palais des Congrès has undergone a major facelift. Closed for renovation in 2019, the...

How did Châteauform' emerge from this long period of virtual inactivity? Benjamin Abittan - A lot of people didn't give us much of a chance and doubted the long-term relevance of our business model. We're delighted to prove them wrong. Châteauform' has come through this crisis rather unscathed, even though we've...

The See You There (SYT) event, which brought together the key players in the events industry on 1 July, had a special flavour this year after months and months of the sector coming to a standstill. Illustrating a trend that began with the health crisis, this annual meeting of the Union Française des Métiers de l'Événement (UNIMEV) brought together...

And that's seven for Châteauform'. This October, the group specialising in seminars and training courses will be adding a seventh destination to its range: the Netherlands. Already present in Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Switzerland, as well as France, Châteauform' is rolling out its seminar concept "just like home" near Amsterdam. The venue is...

What is Lille Grand Palais' strategy in launching this new hybrid offering? Hervé Vauvillier - We could have positioned ourselves on a new purely digital offering, but we opted for the hybrid approach. This can be explained by the DNA of Lille Grand Palais: a convention centre is there...

How does a new player like Keeze intend to carve out a place for itself in an increasingly crowded coworking market? Shaun Nelson - Well, we're a fairly new player. The Keeze concept is to offer private 100% spaces, with the distinctive feature of having totally integrated the design, with teams in charge of...

Each in its turn, the events industry is adapting to the new hybrid meeting formats. The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes is responding to this demand with a new solution that is being presented as a major first in the exhibition and conference industry: the "Cannes Virtual Events" event space, a 3D universe that...

Half-half... There is in these associations a shadow of indecision, a kind of doubt, a mixed feeling. It's half goat, half cabbage, half fig, half grapes... Nothing, in any case, that is synonymous with a successful and constructive meeting. And yet, the "half and half" combination - in this case, half-present and half-distinct - has every chance of serving as a framework for...

A forest in the heart of Europe's leading business district may seem a surprising idea at first glance. But a forest that lends itself to business meetings in a green, high-tech atmosphere - so very much in tune with the times - all under the graceful canopy of the CNIT, makes more sense....

The InterContinental Bordeaux is also adapting to the growing popularity of digital and hybrid events. The five-star hotel recently inaugurated the Studio Grand Hôtel by Abaques, working with the audiovisual agency with offices in Toulouse, Paris and now Bordeaux, with which it has been collaborating for 13 years. With a capacity of six people, this new...

The announcement of a new strategic plan in talkshow style, a product launch staged like a television programme, prestigious locations as backdrops: the Barrière group and the TF1 Factory agency are giving hybrid events a guarantee of excellence. The Barrière hotels have teamed up with TF1's subsidiary specialising in...

It's one thing to capitalise on the demand for hybrid events by acquiring new filming and broadcasting equipment. But we also need to be able to cover the 'physical' part of this 'phygital' dossier, and therefore welcome participants on site, in suitable conditions. That's why the Centre Expo Congrès in Mandelieu-La Napoule recently inaugurated...

After three-quarters of 2020, what do you expect for the convention and events sector in 2021? Philippe Augier - The situation is serious, because after almost ten months of business interruption due to administrative closures and regular regulatory instability, the events sector as a whole is very much under threat. Above all, it is...

In France, anything is possible! "says Thomas Faizant, co-founder of Prochaine Escale. The country is full of secret places, with a wide variety of landscapes and an incredible wealth of culture... In just a few hours, you can go from mountain peaks to sandy beaches, from hectic city life to the peace and quiet of the countryside". Playing on...