A little more than 2 years after the Federation of Nautical Industries (FIN) broke the contract with Reed Expo for the organization of the Nautic and Cannes Yachting Festival, the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris has given its verdict. The court ruled in favor of FIN, cancelling the clause guaranteeing Reed the organization of the Cannes boat show until 2041 and confirming FIN's ownership of the event. Michel Filzi, president of Reed Expo, was kind enough to answer BoatIndustry's questions about his future legal actions, but also about the show and its 2019 edition.
Does Reed Expo intend to appeal the decision of the Paris TGI?
The court judgment did not include an enforceable order. We will therefore obviously appeal this decision. Our objective remains to have the principle of the commitments made by FIN recognized. Article 9.3 (Editor's note: the one providing for Reed to organize the show for a given period after the end of the contract) was not born by spontaneous generation. It existed in 2007 and provided for 10 years after the end of the contract. It was extended to 20 years in 2011 with the agreement of the FIN when the contract was renewed. I insist, it is a question of recognizing the principle of respecting commitments beyond the economic interests of the parties.
Will you continue the investments announced in the Cannes Yachting Festival?
We will obviously continue to invest in the show as we have always done, and also in the 2017 and 2018 editions. There is no change in the announced strategy.
FIN reports that "the court even expressly forbade Reed from holding himself out to anyone as the organizer of the Yachting Festival
There is no enforceable order, which allows us to appeal. We are preparing the Cannes Yachting Festival as we would have done in the case of an opposite court decision.
What about the exchanges with the exhibitors concerning the project of moving the sailing to Port Canto? Do you think that the decision can make this file evolve?
Exhibitors have come forward and are being discussed. There were several exchanges and meetings until Christmas. We have made good progress. This is about the economic conditions and the modus operandi, not about the principle of sailing in Port Canto. The judgment does not affect this policy and strategy. It is not for the customers and exhibitors to suffer the effects of a conflict between private persons. In fact, the court refused to publish the judgement as it concerns only private interests, dismissing the idea of a danger for the nautical sector, as the Competition Authority had already done.
