Events, the greatest pride of our politicians? 

These achievements were highlighted in an introductory video to this end-of-year message. What were they? 

– France hosted the 80th anniversary of the Normandy liberation, an opportunity to host a prestigious event, invite the great leaders of the world and position itself in values ​​of freedom.  

– He organised Olympic Games that were a huge success, moving out of the stadiums and into the city, even getting the grumpy French to welcome this event that was feared to be a logistical nuisance and a security challenge. 

– Finally, Notre Dame was renovated… but more than the renovation itself, it seems that it was the reopening that was experienced as a moment of splendour “à la française” with all the fanfare that is so popular in France (sometimes you wonder if this country famous for its guillotine is not monarchical at heart!). 

Anyway… Rather than talk about social, economic, cultural, educational policy, vision of the future, things that would seem more relevant to people and would directly affect their lives, he highlighted three events, moments of national pride but with few implications for the ability of citizens to live well. I am not here to say whether Macron is good or bad, whether he was right or wrong to highlight these things: I am only here to analyse our market. And what I see is that the event is now a matter of state.

The event is presented as the quality of a country. Highlighting these events, the French president says that “impossible is not French”, as if the fact of organizing a great event were a clear indicator of the talent of an entire country (more than the quality of its educational system or its R&D). Obviously, there is something artificial here, an event is still something easier than a basic job on the competitiveness of a country, but the event is presented today as an indicator, evidence of the quality of a country. 

The event is visible, great leaders and celebrities come, it generates images, the city becomes a point of media attention, and we are talking about images of prestige and glamour, not of a socially sensitive area or a demonstration. In short, we are talking about images that highlight the destination. 

The event is a platform. Zelensky and Trump came to París and talked about the future of Ukrainian security. What we see here is that, as with many events, the fact of being a meeting point, a platform for contacts, for debates (organised or improvised) is a huge value of the event. 

All this is still very good for our sector; it means budgets, prestige, recognition. Many countries understand this, especially the Gulf countries that are in a race to attract events and to take advantage of these values ​​of image and connections with leaders who come to the destination. We often complain about not being understood don’t worry, we are increasingly relevant… even at the very top of the State!