La REF is MEDEF's flagship annual conference: two days in late August at Stade Roland-Garros in Paris where over 13,000 business leaders, ministers, elected officials and journalists convene to debate the economic and political conditions for French competitiveness and sovereignty before the political rentrée.
La Rencontre des Entrepreneurs de France, known universally as La REF, is the annual summit of MEDEF, France's principal employers' federation. Held over two days in late August, it convenes the senior leadership of French business alongside government ministers, elected officials, public intellectuals and accredited press for plenary debates, roundtables and structured networking. The 2026 edition is the 8th in the series and takes place at Stade Roland-Garros, Paris, on 26 and 27 August 2026. Strategically timed to precede the French political and economic rentrée, it functions as the authoritative moment where the agenda of French business is publicly articulated and debated at the highest level.
La REF occupies a singular position in France's economic calendar. Taking place just days before the September rentrée, it is the moment when France's business community collectively signals its priorities to government, media and civil society before Parliament reconvenes and ministerial agendas are set. No other gathering assembles a comparable concentration of French economic and political power in one place at one time.
The format combines large plenary sessions with thematic roundtables, allowing both high-profile public exchanges between MEDEF leadership and ministers and more substantive technical debates across sectors. With more than 700 journalists accredited in 2025 and the event live-streamed to a broader audience, each edition generates significant national press coverage and shapes the business narrative for the months that follow.
La REF draws a cross-section of French economic and political life rather than a homogeneous sector audience:
The mix signals that La REF is less a specialist industry conference than a broad economic-political forum where the terms of business-government relations are publicly negotiated. The presence of press at scale also means sessions function partly as media events.
The 2026 edition is organised around the question of whether France is ready to assume the collective effort required to remain a free, prosperous and solidarity-based nation. This framing reflects MEDEF's consistent focus in recent years on economic sovereignty, competitiveness reform, investment incentives and the conditions for productive employment. Sessions typically address: fiscal and regulatory reform proposals, investment conditions, workforce training and labour market flexibility, energy and industrial policy, and France's positioning in the European single market.
Recurring subject areas across editions include the simplification of administrative constraints on business, the financing of the ecological transition, digital sovereignty, and the social model's compatibility with long-term competitiveness. Thematic roundtables run in parallel with the main plenary programme, covering sectors from construction and health to finance and technology. The editorial line is set by MEDEF and reflects an explicitly pro-business reform agenda, which gives the content a consistent orientation even as specific speakers and themes rotate annually.
La REF was first held in 2019 as MEDEF's successor to earlier summer university formats, designed to be a more high-profile and politically engaged gathering. The 2026 edition is the 8th annual edition, with the series having grown substantially in scale: the 2025 edition at Roland-Garros was described by the organiser as a record-setting event, with over 13,000 participants and more than 125 partner organisations. Earlier editions were held at the Hippodrome ParisLongchamp; the move to Roland-Garros for 2025 and 2026 reflects both the event's expanded scale and a repositioning toward a larger, more media-friendly venue. The event's timing, one year before French presidential and legislative elections in the 2026 cycle, increases its political weight considerably.
La REF is open to all, with registration available at two tiers: a standard public rate and a preferential rate for MEDEF member companies and federations. Accredited journalists attend separately. Registrations open in the weeks before the event; exact pricing for 2026 had not been published as of June 2026.
Yes. The entire programme, plenary sessions, roundtables and all published materials are in French. There is no simultaneous interpretation or English-language track. Participants should expect a fully French-language environment.
La REF is specifically the voice of organised business (the employer federation) rather than a neutral convening body. This distinguishes it from, for example, the Forum de Paris on Peace or France Digitale's events. Its agenda is explicitly shaped by MEDEF's advocacy priorities, which gives the content a clear institutional orientation. The political access it offers, with ministers debating directly with business leaders on live stages, is relatively unusual in the European conference circuit.
Stade Roland-Garros, located at 2 Avenue Gordon Bennett in Paris's 16th arrondissement, is one of France's most recognisable sports venues, home to the French Open tennis grand slam. For La REF 2026, MEDEF has adapted the stadium's facilities into a conference environment with multiple plenary spaces and exhibition areas. The venue is accessible by metro from Porte d'Auteuil and Porte de Saint-Cloud stations (a few minutes' walk), with advance-reservation parking available at Jean Bouin, Parchamp and Porte d'Auteuil. Hotel blocks at preferential rates have been pre-reserved by the organisers near the venue. The choice of Roland-Garros, following its debut as La REF's host in 2025, reinforces the event's national cultural prominence.
MEDEF, the Mouvement des Entreprises de France, is France's principal employers' federation, founded in 1998 as the successor to the CNPF (Conseil national du patronat français). It represents approximately 160,000 companies across all sectors and company sizes, organised through a network of territorial federations and sector-based branches. MEDEF is one of the five representative organisations that participate in French social dialogue, negotiating national collective agreements with trade unions and engaging with government on economic and labour policy.
La REF is MEDEF's most visible annual initiative: a public-facing forum where it positions the collective voice of French business at the centre of the national economic debate. The organisation is also behind La REF Souveraineté, a complementary one-day thematic event (June 2026 edition), and supports regional REF events organised by territorial MEDEF federations across France.
La REF is the defining annual rendezvous of French organised business, where MEDEF's 160,000-member federation convenes 13,000 leaders and ministers for a political-economic debate that sets the tone for France's corporate rentrée and makes it the highest-stakes business forum in the French calendar.
La REF uses a two-tier registration model: a public rate available to any professional wishing to attend, and a preferential member rate for companies and federations affiliated with MEDEF. Registration opens via the official website at laref.org several weeks before the event; exact pricing for the 2026 edition had not been published as of June 2026. The organiser has pre-negotiated hotel blocks near Roland-Garros at preferential rates, accessible once registration opens.
Accredited media attend under a separate press accreditation process managed by MEDEF's communications team. With over 700 journalists present at the 2025 edition, the event operates as a major press event as well as a business forum. Participants travelling from outside Paris are advised to book accommodation early given the volume of attendees and the August timing.
The organiser indicates that the registration platform will open in the weeks before the event. As of June 2026, exact dates and pricing had not been published. Check laref.org for updates.
La REF 2026 takes place at Stade Roland-Garros, 2 Avenue Gordon Bennett, 75016 Paris. The nearest metro stations are Porte d'Auteuil and Porte de Saint-Cloud (both a few minutes' walk). Advance-reservation parking is available at Jean Bouin, Parchamp and Porte d'Auteuil. Secure bicycle parking is also available on site.
Yes. MEDEF's territorial federations organise their own regional REF events across France (for example, REF Hauts-de-France, REF Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes). These events follow a similar format but are independent of the national edition at Roland-Garros.
| Official website | https://laref.org/ |
| Organiser (MEDEF) | https://www.medef.com/ |
| 2026 event page | https://www.medef.com/la-ref/laref26-2026 |
| Practical info | https://laref.org/infos-pratiques/ |