Reed Expositions keeps the organization of the Cannes Yachting Festival until 2041
After a postponement to May 2021, the Paris Court of Appeal has finally issued its ruling in the dispute between the Federation of Nautical Industries (FIN) and Reed Expositions for the organization of the Cannes Yachting Festival. Following the early termination in 2016 of the contract between the two parties for the organization of the Cannes and Paris boat shows, the dispute between the parties crystallized around the application of a clause giving Reed Expositions the organization of the Cannes event for 20 years after the end of the contract initially scheduled for 2021, i.e. until 2041. In the first instance, the court ruled in favor of FIN. But the judges of the Court of Appeal finally overturned this decision, confirming the legality of the contract in their ruling of July 1, 2021. Reed Expositions will operate the Cannes Yachting Festival until 2041, the show remaining the property of FIN. "We will continue to pay FIN the contractual fee provided for, at the rate set in the contract in 1998, as we have done every year the show has been held since 2016," confirms Michel Filzi, president of Reed Expositions.
End of the judicial saga?
As the 2021 edition of the Cannes Yachting Festival approaches, the decision of the Court of Appeal brings a welcome visibility. However, if the FIN does not wish to comment for the moment, it could refer to the Court of Cassation, which has an average delay of more than a year. Nevertheless, Reed hopes that the judicial page will be turned, and looks forward to the next editions. "It is a great satisfaction to see our rights recognized by the justice. I hope that this decision will put an end to the judicial phase. I am very confident about the next editions, despite the complicated health context. All the elements are there to make beautiful exhibitions" affirms Michel Filzi. Regarding future relations with the FIN, owner of the show, he plays the appeasement. "As a matter of principle, my door remains open to women and men of good will. We will see the attitude and speeches of the FIN, after these last years marked by sometimes aggressive words of some of its current and past members."
