Delayed reconciliation
After the Fédération des Industries Nautiques denounced its contract with Reed Exposition for the organisation of its boat shows, confusion continued regarding the organisation of the Cannes Yachting Festival. As we mentioned in these columns, each party declares itself legitimate to manage the Cannes salon.
At the initiative of the Cannes City Council and Mr Frank Chikli, the 3rd Deputy, notably in charge of economic development, economic attractiveness, tourism and events, a conciliation process was launched at the end of January. A first meeting had been planned on February 08, 2017, at the town hall of Cannes, in the presence of Mr. Michel Filzi, president of Reed Expositions France and Mr. Yves Lyon-Caen, president of the Fédération des Industries Nautiques. The latter having finally delegated Mr Gérard Lachkar, the local representative of the FIN, to his place 2 hours before the meeting, the Cannes City Council considered that all the conditions were not met to carry out the consultation successfully. A new date must be set.
Continuation of legal proceedings
Seized by Reed Expositions in November 2016, the interim relief judge ruled on 03 February 2017 and did not take any precautionary measures. When contacted, Reed Expositions indicated that it wished to appeal this decision. "For us, if there was an emergency in November, there is even more urgency in February to avoid any communication that could undermine the smooth running of the Cannes Yachting Festival 2017
Confusion over the 2017 edition
When asked, Reed Expositions maintains the position already expressed in these columns. Pending the decision of the trial judge, the company continues the marketing and preparation of the Cannes Yachting Festival 2017 with yachting professionals and institutions. "It's going well," says Michel Filzi.
As for the Fédération des Industries Nautiques, it had informed us before the judgment that if the decision of the summary proceedings was unfavourable to Reed Expositions, it would also start marketing the 2017 edition with Nautic Festival SA. When contacted again, she did not wish to speak at this stage.
The procedure for a final judgement is still pending before the High Court. It should not arrive for several months, which maintains the confusion for the 2017 edition.
