Behind the trade shows you visit sits a handful of major organisers who structure the entire French market. Knowing who owns what clarifies a lot: the coherence of a portfolio, the solidity of an event, the co-location logic between shows from the same group. Here is a map of the main players, based on public data.
GL events, the Integrated Giant
Long described as the Lyon-based challenger, GL events has changed scale. Founded in 1978 as a modest equipment rental business, the group passed 1.7 billion euros in revenue in 2025 and now presents itself as the world's number one in events. Its distinctiveness lies in vertical integration: it does not just organise trade shows, it manufactures and rents structures, fits out stands, manages host venues and operates exhibition centres. This control of the entire value chain is unique among French players.
Its venue-management strategy reached a milestone in 2025 with the award of the operating concession for the Stade de France for thirty years, beating out the Vinci-Bouygues consortium. The group is pursuing global expansion in parallel (joint ventures in China, park concessions in Brazil, development in the Middle East) and diversification through successive acquisitions, notably in temporary structures and venue management.
On the trade show side, its Exhibitions division organises around a hundred events firmly anchored in industry and technical sectors. Its flagship brands: Sirha in Lyon (hospitality and food service), Global Industrie (industry), Première Vision (fashion and textiles), Paysalia (landscaping and gardens), BePositive (energy and construction), Piscine Global Europe, with Pollutec following its own path under a different operator.
Comexposium, the Generalist Heavyweight
This is one of the world's leaders, running around 150 B2B and consumer trade shows worldwide and welcoming several million visitors each year. Co-owned by CCI Paris Île-de-France and Crédit Agricole Assurances, the group covers a very wide range of sectors. Its flagship shows: SIAL (food and agriculture), the Salon International de l'Agriculture, co-organised with CENECA, Intermat (construction and equipment), Paris Retail Week (retail), Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris, via the Vinexposium joint venture (wine and spirits), All4Pack (packaging), and, on the consumer side, the Foire de Paris and the Salon du Chocolat. Its sheer scale makes it a near-unavoidable stop across several industries.
RX France, the International Brand
Formerly Reed Exhibitions, RX France (RELX group) organises several dozen trade shows and carries some of the best-known brands in the market. Its flagship shows: MIPIM in Cannes and MAPIC (real estate), Batimat within the Mondial du Bâtiment, renamed Paris Builders Show from the 2026 edition onwards (construction), Pollutec (environment), EquipHotel (hospitality and food service), Maison & Objet, organised by SAFI, a joint venture between Ateliers d'Art de France and RX France (decoration and design), and the Paris Nautic Show, formerly the Salon Nautique de Paris, now held at Le Bourget. The group stands out for a marked international orientation on its flagship events, several of which are global fixtures for their industry.
Infopro Digital, the B2B Specialist
Infopro Digital combines professional media and events, running around 35 trade shows and a large number of more targeted B2B events. Its flagship shows: Franchise Expo Paris, the reference event for franchising and one of the most dynamic in its portfolio, the Salon des Maires et des Collectivités Locales, the insurance and finance events tied to L'Argus de l'Assurance, and the construction events linked to Le Moniteur. Its strength is proximity to specific professional communities, nurtured year-round by its media outlets.
Weyou Group and the Specialised Independents
Alongside the giants, more specialised players hold strong positions in their niches. Weyou Group organises notably All4Customer Paris (digital marketing, customer relations, e-commerce) and several one-to-one format events. Other independent organisers, sometimes backed by collectives or sector federations, run reference trade shows without belonging to the major groups: this is the case for many regional or sector-specific shows. This diversity is good news for the market: it sustains competition and format innovation.
Why This Matters to You
Identifying a show's organiser gives you useful bearings. A solid group generally offers a well-oiled organisation, reliable attendance data and relevant co-locations with other shows in the same portfolio, which can make a trip more worthwhile. Conversely, knowing that an event is run by a small player invites closer scrutiny of its trajectory. On Agoris, the organiser appears on every listing, and we are progressively grouping shows by organiser to make this easier to read.
Sources
Portfolio data and key figures drawn from organisers' official websites and the business press (2024-2026). GL events 2025 revenue above 1.7 billion euros and the thirty-year Stade de France concession: group communications and business press. Show and visitor volumes are orders of magnitude as communicated by the groups, subject to change with acquisitions and reorganisations.