The Forum Économique Breton is the annual gathering of Brittany's economic and civic leadership: two days in Saint-Malo each September where business executives, elected officials, entrepreneurs and public figures debate the region's strategic future across more than 100 conferences, panels and exchanges.
The Forum Économique Breton (FEB) is an annual, two-day economic congress held in Saint-Malo each autumn. Founded in 2019 and reaching its seventh edition in 2026, it brings together business executives, entrepreneurs, elected officials, institutional leaders and civil society figures from across Brittany and beyond, framing the region's strategic challenges through a dense programme of conferences, roundtables and thematic exhibitions. The event takes place across two adjacent venues on the Saint-Malo waterfront: the Palais du Grand Large for plenary and conference sessions, and exhibition halls on the Quai Saint-Malo. The FEB is supported institutionally by the Brittany Regional Council and a broad coalition of major corporate and public-sector partners.
Brittany occupies a singular position in the French regional economy: it combines a strong industrial base (agro-food, maritime, defence, telecoms), a dense network of family-owned mid-cap groups, and a regional identity that functions as both a cultural asset and a political force. The Forum Économique Breton exists precisely to channel that specificity into structured public debate. Rather than importing a generic national-conference format, the FEB anchors every edition in Breton territory, economy and society, asking not only what global transitions mean in the abstract but what they mean for a regional labour market, for the region's fishing fleets, for Saint-Malo's port, and for the dozens of major Breton groups that rarely appear on the Paris conference circuit. The result is a forum with genuine territorial stakes, where the speakers are often the same people who control the levers that affect the region's economic trajectory.
The FEB draws its audience primarily from Brittany's professional and institutional world:
Figures from Paris-based national institutions, such as Caisse des Dépôts and Bpifrance, appear both on stage and in the audience. According to the organiser, the event has recorded over 4,000 participants in recent editions.
The FEB structures its programme around six to seven recurring thematic pillars, each addressed through dedicated conference tracks and roundtables. The 2026 pillars are:
The 2026 edition frames all sessions around the question of collective re-prioritisation in the face of geopolitical and economic disruption. More than 100 individual conference sessions and panels are scheduled across the two days, with networking time and exhibition spaces running in parallel.
The 2026 speaker roster had not been published at the time of this research. Past editions provide a reliable indication of the calibre and profile of participants. Recent editions featured:
The Forum Économique Breton was created in 2019 as a Brittany-anchored alternative to generic national economic conferences. The annual format grew steadily: recent editions exceeded 4,000 participants according to the organiser. Each edition has addressed the specific anxieties and opportunities of its moment, post-pandemic industrial recovery, energy cost shocks, digital transformation of traditional Breton sectors, while maintaining continuity in format and institutional backing. By 2026, the seventh edition, the FEB has established itself as the reference annual calendar fixture for professionals with significant Breton economic exposure.
It is a regional event with national speakers. The FEB is explicitly rooted in the Brittany region: its programme, partners, institutional backers and thematic framing all centre on Breton territory and economy. That said, speakers regularly include Paris-based national figures, and the FEB attracts coverage in the French national economic press. It should be understood as a regional event that reaches national relevance by virtue of Brittany's economic weight, not as a national event that happens to be held in Saint-Malo.
Yes. All programming and published materials are in French. The FEB is a French-language event aimed at a French-speaking professional audience. No English-language tracks or simultaneous interpretation have been documented.
The FEB is closer in format to a professional congress or a public-affairs conference than to a trade show. There is an exhibition component on the Quai Saint-Malo, but the intellectual and networking weight sits in the conference programme: 100+ sessions over two days, structured around thematic pillars. It is not a summit in the sense of a closed high-level gathering: registration is open to any professional willing to purchase a pass.
The forum is not designed for the following:
The Palais du Grand Large is Saint-Malo's principal congress centre, located on the Esplanade Saint-Vincent facing the sea. It is the natural home for large Breton professional gatherings and is paired with the adjacent Quai Saint-Malo exhibition halls. Saint-Malo itself, positioned at the north-western tip of Brittany on the English Channel, is the region's most symbolically charged location for an event of this kind: a historic port city with strong Breton identity, international maritime heritage, and good rail and road connections from Rennes (approximately 70 km) and Paris (TGV to Rennes, then a connecting service).
We'll Group is the events production company responsible for organising the Forum Économique Breton. The forum benefits from strong institutional co-support from the Brittany Regional Council and a broad base of major corporate and public-sector partners, including in past editions Bpifrance and Banque des Territoires. The organiser can be reached through the official website.
The Forum Économique Breton is the most visible annual forum for Brittany's economic and civic leadership: a two-day, multi-track congress in Saint-Malo that combines hard business programming with genuine regional identity stakes, drawing 4,000 participants according to the organiser.
Registration for the Forum Économique Breton is open to professionals and is managed through the official website. Specific 2026 ticket tiers and prices had not been disclosed publicly at the time of this research. Given the event's positioning as a broad professional gathering rather than an invitation-only summit, attendance is accessible to any registrant willing to purchase a pass. The organiser and institutional partners may offer complimentary or discounted access for certain partner categories; details should be confirmed directly with the organiser.
Saint-Malo is accessible by TGV from Paris Montparnasse to Rennes (approximately 2 hours), followed by a regional train to Saint-Malo (approximately 1 hour). By car from Rennes the journey is approximately 70 km. The Palais du Grand Large is located on the seafront close to the historic walled centre, within walking distance of several hotels and the Saint-Malo train station (approximately 1 km).
Based on prior editions, registration opens several months before the September dates. The official website is the authoritative source for registration opening dates and programme announcements. Speakers and programme details for 2026 were expected to be published progressively during summer 2026.
Yes. In addition to the conference sessions at the Palais du Grand Large, the FEB includes an exhibition area in adjacent halls on the Quai Saint-Malo. In past editions this space was organised into thematic communities aligned with the forum's programmatic pillars, hosting stands from companies, public institutions and associations.
| Official website | https://www.fe-breton.bzh/ |
| Speakers page | https://www.fe-breton.bzh/speakers |
| Bpifrance Big Média | https://bigmedia.bpifrance.fr/nos-evenements/forum-economique-breton |