Each July, a mid-sized Provençal city becomes the focal point of European economic debate: free to attend, open to all, and bringing together over 400 economists, ministers, CEOs and civil society voices around a single theme that frames the agenda for the year ahead.
Les Rencontres Économiques d'Aix-en-Provence is an annual three-day public forum held every July in Aix-en-Provence, France, organised by Le Cercle des économistes since 2001. It brings together economists, heads of government and international organisations, corporate leaders, academics, and civil society representatives around a single unifying theme debated across roughly 80 sessions. Attendance is free and open to all upon simple registration, with sessions streamed online for those unable to attend in person. The forum operates in French and English with interpretation, and according to the organiser it consistently draws participants from more than 50 countries.
Les Rencontres Économiques is one of the few large-scale economics forums in Europe that is structurally public: there is no ticket price, no VIP-only content, and no application process. Founded by Le Cercle des économistes in 2001, it was conceived as a counter-model to invitation-only gatherings, placing rigorous economic debate in an outdoor Provençal setting accessible to students, journalists, policymakers and citizens alike. Over 25 years it has grown from a niche academic gathering into an event that according to the organiser now attracts more than 8,000 participants and over 410 speakers from approximately 53 countries across three days.
The programme architecture is deliberately cross-sectoral. Plenary sessions set the thematic frame, breakout controversies and sectoral debates allow detailed treatment of sub-themes, and the Youth Agoras provide a dedicated space for younger voices to challenge the mainstream consensus. A parallel Global Economic Dialogue assembles more than 50 think tanks from five continents to produce cross-regional perspectives that feed back into the plenary conclusions. This layered structure means the forum serves simultaneously as a policy platform, an academic seminar, and a public convening space.
The forum draws a genuinely mixed crowd spanning institutions, markets and civil society:
The breadth of this mix is part of the forum's stated mission: Le Cercle des économistes explicitly designs the programme to prevent any single constituency from dominating the agenda. The result is a room where a finance minister, a student economist, and a corporate CEO are genuinely expected to debate in the same session.
The 2026 edition organises its 80-plus sessions around the theme "Navigating a World Without Landmarks." The organisers frame this not as a sentiment of disorientation but as a structural diagnosis: the categories that structured economic and political action over the past three decades (growth and stability, openness and sovereignty, progress and security) are losing analytical clarity. Six special thematic sessions address major transitions identified for 2026: artificial intelligence and employment, international security, strategic resources, the rise of intermediate powers, the North-South economic relationship, and European strategic autonomy. The opening plenary on 2 July poses the question "Can We Still Talk About Progress?", while the closing plenary on 4 July moves to "Envisioning a Responsible and Sovereign World."
Across editions, recurring programmatic territories include macroeconomic governance and monetary policy, European integration and industrial strategy, climate economics and energy transition, development finance and emerging-market trajectories, and the economics of technological change. The Global Economic Dialogue, which convenes more than 50 think tanks from five continents, adds a structured North-South dimension that distinguishes the Rencontres from forums focused primarily on OECD-country concerns. Six Youth Agoras run in parallel to the main programme, giving younger participants dedicated session slots and direct access to senior speakers.
The 2026 confirmed speaker list includes a cross-section of French political leaders, international officials and corporate executives. Yaël Braun-Pivet, President of the French National Assembly, is confirmed alongside Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, and Alexandre Bompard, Chairman and CEO of Carrefour. Christel Heydemann, CEO of Orange, and Jean Castex, CEO of SNCF, represent major French corporate groups. On the international side, Louise Mushikiwabo, Secretary General of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, André Correa do Lago, President of the COP30 Presidency, and Nadia Fettah Alaoui, Morocco's Minister of Economy and Finance, are among the confirmed participants. Yasmine Belkaid, President of Institut Pasteur, represents the research world, and Philippe Aghion, a member of Le Cercle des économistes and one of France's most cited economists, is a recurring participant. The full roster of more than 410 speakers was not yet published at the time of writing; additional names are expected to be announced ahead of the July opening.
The forum was founded in 2001 by Le Cercle des économistes, which launched it as an annual gathering in Aix-en-Provence designed to bridge professional economic research and public debate. The 2026 edition is the 26th. Over its history the event has expanded from a primarily French academic audience to a genuinely international forum: the 2025 edition, for reference, drew approximately 8,700 participants and 380 speakers from 51 nations, which places the reported 2026 figures of 8,000 participants and 410 speakers in a consistent growth trajectory. The forum has progressively added structural components, including the Global Economic Dialogue (multi-continent think-tank network), the Youth Agoras programme, and the cultural OFF (a separate programme of public cultural events held in parallel, documented in its own fiche).
Both, by design. Le Cercle des économistes is an association of professional economists, and the programme includes sessions at academic rigour. At the same time, the confirmed speaker list for 2026 includes sitting ministers, corporate CEOs and heads of international organisations. The format deliberately mixes registers, so sessions range from technical economic analysis to policy advocacy and public debate.
Sessions run in both French and English, with interpretation provided. The event is accessible to non-French speakers, and the international speaker roster (drawn from approximately 53 countries) means a significant portion of content is delivered in English.
It occupies a distinct position: unlike forums such as the World Economic Forum annual meeting or the Ambrosetti Forum, it charges no attendance fee and applies no invitation filter. This gives it a different social composition, with students, journalists and civil society participants alongside senior officials and executives. Its scale (80 sessions, 410 speakers, 8,000 participants according to the organiser) is larger than most national economics forums in Europe.
Parc Jourdan, located on Avenue Anatole France in central Aix-en-Provence, is a public garden that is partially repurposed each July to host the forum's outdoor and tented session spaces. The open-air setting is integral to the forum's identity: sessions take place under temporary structures and in amphitheatre-style outdoor configurations, reinforcing the public and accessible character of the event. The choice of a municipal park rather than a conference centre reflects the founding philosophy of Le Cercle des économistes: economic debate as a civic act, conducted in shared public space.
Le Cercle des économistes is a French association of professional economists dedicated to bringing rigorous economic analysis into public debate. It was founded with the explicit aim of opening the discipline beyond academic journals and policy documents to a broader citizen audience. The Rencontres Économiques d'Aix-en-Provence is its flagship initiative, launched in 2001 and held every year since. Beyond the forum, Le Cercle des économistes publishes research, organises debates, and regularly contributes to French and European policy discussions. The association's membership includes economists from French universities, research institutes and international bodies, several of whom participate as speakers or moderators at the forum each year.
France's largest open economics forum, the Rencontres d'Aix stands apart on the EMEA circuit for its structurally public model: free admission, outdoor civic setting, and a programme that places academic economists, sitting ministers and student agoras in the same room with no VIP filter.
Attendance at Les Rencontres Économiques d'Aix-en-Provence is free of charge. Registration is required and is open to all without application, selection process or professional credential check. The registration form for the 2026 edition is available on the official website. Online streaming of the main sessions is also free and available without in-person attendance.
There are no paid ticket tiers, no premium access categories, and no sponsored delegate packages. The forum is financed through its organiser, Le Cercle des économistes, and through institutional partnerships; the cost is not passed on to participants.
Registration is available via the official website at lesrencontreseconomiques.fr/inscription. The process is a standard online form with no vetting step; confirmation is sent by email. Online streaming access is available through the same portal.
The OFF des Rencontres is a separate cultural programme held in parallel during the same dates in Aix-en-Provence. It has its own programming and access conditions and is documented separately. Registering for the main forum does not automatically register you for OFF events.
Yes. Aix-en-Provence is accessible via Marseille-Provence Airport (approximately 25 minutes by road) and by TGV to Aix-en-Provence TGV station. The city has hotel and short-stay accommodation across a range of price points. Sessions are conducted in French and English with interpretation, making the event accessible to international participants.
| Official website | https://www.lesrencontreseconomiques.fr/ |
| Register (2026) | https://cercle.digifactory.fr/reaix-2026/formulaires-2026/registration |
| Organiser | https://lecercledeseconomistes.fr/ |
| YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/@RencontresEcoAix |