RX France wins Cannes Yachting Festival court battle

A Paris Court of Appeal yesterday ruled that RX France (previously Reed Expositions France) continues to manage the Cannes Yachting Festival until 2041.

The court decision comes after five years of legal proceedings initiated by the French Boating Industry Federation (FIN). In 2016, FIN challenged a contractual agreement between it and RX France, which granted RX France the management rights to the Cannes Yachting Festival until 2041.

This challenge had previously been dismissed by the Competition Authority on 9 August 2017, and FIN was also dismissed by the Administrative Court on 30 June 2020 in its case against the Nice-Côte d’Azur CCI (Chamber of Commerce and Industry).

‘’This is a victory for common sense and good business practices,” says Michel Filzi, chief executive of RX France.  “We entered into the contract in good faith and under our watch the Cannes Yachting Festival has become Europe’s largest in-water boating event.

“We are particularly grateful for the support we have received from our clients, the host city of Cannes and the Chamber of Commerce of Nice-Côte d’Azur.”

Sylvie Ernoult, director of the Cannes Yachting Festival, comments: “I’m incredibly proud of the way that the Cannes Yachting Festival has evolved. We have worked closely with the French and international yachting community and in 2019 we were rewarded with 82% of professional participants saying they were completely or very satisfied with the show.

‘’Despite the context, we have been working non-stop to ensure that this year’s September edition in Cannes is a success including developing the Port Canto exhibition zone. Our ambition is to maintain the high level of satisfaction from our exhibitors and visitors.’’

The next physical edition of the Cannes Yachting Festival is scheduled to take place September 7-12, 2021.