Carrefour des Gestions Locales de l'Eau · 2027

Agoris analysis · updated October 2026

Key takeaways

• The Carrefour des Gestions Locales de l'Eau (CGLE) is the major annual French gathering for the water sector, bringing together public and private players around the water cycle: drinking water and resources, collective and non-collective sanitation, stormwater and GEMAPI.
• Organised by idealCO, a professional platform dedicated to public-sector players, in partnership with Région Bretagne and the Agence de l'Eau Loire-Bretagne.
• Next edition: 28th edition, on 27 and 28 January 2027 at the Parc Expo Rennes, spread across 5 themed halls.
• Figures announced for the 2026 edition: 19,000 participants, 650 exhibitors and more than 200 conferences across around twenty expert tracks.
• A trade show long established in Rennes: the 24th edition was held in January 2023 (13,900 participants).

Who exhibits

Typical profile

Equipment manufacturers and industrial players in water treatment and sanitation, engineering and design consultancies, suppliers of networks, pipework and trenchless solutions, providers of digital and remote-management software, manufacturers of measurement and pumping equipment, operators and delegated service providers. The trade show is organised into 5 themed halls covering the entire water cycle.

Notable exhibitors

The list of exhibitors is available on the official website: carrefour-eau.com. The offering is arranged by themed sectors (drinking water and resources, collective sanitation, non-collective sanitation, stormwater, GEMAPI), with a village dedicated to trenchless technologies and an area devoted to nature-based solutions.

Quality of attendance

For the 2025 edition, the breakdown of attendees was as follows (source: revue-ein.com):

• 53% from companies, 22% from local authorities, 25% from schools, design consultancies and public bodies
• 92% French attendees, 8% international
• Strong regional roots: more than 35% from Brittany, 18% from Pays de la Loire, the remainder spread between Île-de-France, Normandy and other regions

Activities & community

Conference programme

The 2026 edition featured more than 200 conferences and over 100 hours of conferences, round tables and interviews, organised around around twenty expert tracks. The opening plenary session addressed the theme "Water and soils: an essential alliance", co-organised with the Agence de l'Eau Loire-Bretagne and the Région Bretagne. The issues covered included structural drought, ageing infrastructure, integrated stormwater management, soil preservation and the digital transformation of the sector. The 2027 theme and programme have not yet been published (source: carrefour-eau.com).

Community and networks

idealCO operates the professional platform behind the trade show, with a community of more than 400,000 local-authority officers and directors. The show's programme is co-developed each year with the event partners, foremost among them the Région Bretagne and the Agence de l'Eau Loire-Bretagne.

Environmental commitments

No dedicated page on environmental or CSR commitments is published on carrefour-eau.com at the time of writing. As the water sector is by its very nature oriented towards resource preservation, the show's commitments will be added as soon as they are officially published.

On site: what you need to know

Access, parking and accommodation: see the listing for the Parc Expo Rennes.

Specific to the trade show:

• Halls: the show occupies halls 4, 5, 7/8, 2/3 and 1 of the Parc Expo Rennes (source: rennesparcexpo.fr).
• 2027 opening hours: Wednesday 8.30am-9pm, Thursday 8.30am-5pm (source: rennesparcexpo.fr).
• Recruitment area: an enhanced employment and training zone with recruiter meetings at recent editions.

Planning your visit

For exhibitors

• 9 months out: making contact with idealCO and choosing positioning among the 5 themed halls.
• 6 months out: preparing the stand and demonstrations, identifying the expert tracks relevant to targeting your audience.
• 3 months out: applying for the activities and conferences co-developed with the partners.
• 6 weeks out: confirming meetings with local authorities and design consultancies.

For decision-maker visitors

• Register online at carrefour-eau.com.
• Allow 1 to 2 days depending on your scope (drinking water, sanitation, stormwater, GEMAPI).
• Target the expert tracks and conferences in advance: more than 100 hours of programming spread across around twenty tracks.
• Make use of the employment and training zone for recruitment within the sector.

How the trade show has evolved

Trajectory analysis

The Carrefour des Gestions Locales de l'Eau has established itself as the reference venue in France for the water sector, with marked growth: from 13,900 participants for the 24th edition in 2023 to 19,000 announced for the 2026 edition. The show has broadened its scope from technical equipment alone towards integrated-management issues (stormwater, GEMAPI, nature-based solutions, trenchless technologies). The 2027 edition, on 27 and 28 January at the Parc Expo Rennes, extends this momentum, drawing on idealCO's stewardship and the structuring partnership with the Région Bretagne and the Agence de l'Eau Loire-Bretagne. The 2027 figures and theme will be confirmed as the show approaches.

Unless otherwise stated, all factual data in this listing comes from the organiser's official website (carrefour-eau.com).