French SMEs exhibiting for the first time at the 2022 or 2023 editions will be eligible for assistance of up to 50% of the cost of their stand, as part of public aid to the events sector.
Easyfairs announces that it has won a court case to add Paris Packaging Week to the list of events for which the French government will grant first-time French exhibitors aid towards the cost of their stand.
The decree was updated yesterday (May 16), adding the June 2022 and January 2023 editions of Paris Packaging Week to the list of events included in the program, which is designed to help reboot the French events industry and the global economy after the Covid period.
Paris Packaging Week had initially been omitted from the plan, which applies to events with over 500 exhibitors; but a legal challenge by Easyfairs to amend the law led to the event being added to the legal text yesterday.
Under this program, French SMEs that did not exhibit at the last Paris Packaging Week will be able to claim 50% of the cost of their stand from the government.
In practice, this means that for the June 2022 edition, support is open to companies who did not exhibit at the January 2020 edition, including those who have already booked their stand. For the January 2023 edition, assistance is open to companies that did not exhibit at the June 2022 edition. SMEs are defined as companies with sales of less than €50 million and fewer than 250 employees. Under the scheme, companies can apply for up to 50% of the cost of their stand, with a ceiling per company of €12,500 and a ceiling per event of €1.3 million. According to the government, a total budget of 96.3 million
euros has been allocated to this initiative. Assistance is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, and it is the responsibility of the exhibitor to submit any application to the program.
Josh Brooks, Director of Paris Packaging Week, said: "We're delighted to have won this challenge to change the law and support the community of French SMEs exhibiting at our event.
"Although we are an international event, we know that many of our visitors come to the event looking for French suppliers and the "Made in France" label for their packaging. We hope that the addition of Paris Packaging Week to this government scheme will help stimulate the activity of a wider community of French suppliers and bring more innovation to the packaging market."
Full program details are available at : https://les-aides.fr/aide/ZYVv3w/cci-france/aide-visant-a-favoriser-l-attractivite-des-principaux-salons-foires.html
