Paris has VivaTech, but much of France's startup calendar happens elsewhere: Lille for cybersecurity, Lyon for industry, Cannes for AI, Bordeaux and Toulouse for free ecosystem days, and developer festivals in Nantes, Grenoble and Tours.
This guide lists startup, tech, investor and women-founder events across France from October 2026 to October 2027, with the main Paris events in brief and a link to our full Paris guide. We checked every date on the organiser's own website. Where a date isn't published yet, we say so, and we mark each event as Confirmed (date on the official site), Announced (date from a reliable second source) or Expected (based on past editions only).
This article is regularly updated with new events. Do you know about an event that needs to be added? Send us some info and we will see if it's a fit.
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Best Startup Events in France 2026–2027: Calendar from October 2026 to October 2027
Autumn 2026: October to December
Lille: Cloud Nord and Campus Cyber Summit, 30 October and 5 November 2026
More than 700 people came in 2025, and startups can apply to exhibit. A week earlier, Cloud Nord (30 October, Université Catholique de Lille) gathers the northern cloud and developer community.
Women Café Investisseur, Bordeaux: 5 November 2026
One of the few investor events in France built only for women founders. Apply before 23 October to be one of the five who pitch.
Forum méditerranéen de l'IA, Marseille: 5 November 2026
Registration runs through b2match, which also books one-to-one meetings, so plan your meetings before the day.
Toulouse, Rennes and Montpellier: 14–19 November 2026
Brittany's main cyber and defence event, useful for dual-use and security startups. In Toulouse, Capitole du Libre (14–15 November, ENSEEIHT) is a free open-source festival of about 1,400 people; registration is required. In Montpellier, Les Assises MedVallée (17 November, Le Corum) gather the city's health, food and environment innovation scene. On the same day, listings give 17 November for the free Salon de l'Entreprise & de la Franchise Occitanie at MEETT near Toulouse.
French Tech Day, Bordeaux: 19 November 2026
More than 2,000 people take part, with startup stands and office hours for founders. It is the largest free startup day in south-west France. On the same day, DevFest Toulouse fills the Diagora congress centre in Labège; the €90 tickets were still on sale when we checked.
Startup weekends: Grenoble and Côte d'Azur, 27 November – 6 December 2026
A cheap way to test an idea and find a co-founder. Near Nice, Startup Weekend Côte d'Azur (4–6 December) runs a residential winter edition in Lucéram, with beds, meals and mentors in the price (€49–€89 tiers listed when we checked).
Lyon and Lille in December 2026
Almost sold out when we checked. The same weekend, EuraTechnologies runs Vibe Coding Arena II in Lille (5–6 December), a 36-hour AI coding hackathon for solo builders or teams of up to four, with €5,000 in prizes. The Lyon Start Up programme, free for 100 projects, holds its pitch final and prize ceremony in December 2026 (the day isn't published). In Marseille, the Forum Entrepreneur 13 returns on 10 December at the World Trade Center, according to the local press.
Winter and spring 2027: January to April
Grenoble: Snowcamp and Tech&Fest, January and February 2027
A technical community event in the Alps. Grenoble's Tech&Fest show is listed for 3–4 February 2027 at Alpexpo by Promosalons; in 2026 its iVenture programme matched 19 startups with investors, but the 2027 programme isn't confirmed.
WAICF World AI Cannes Festival: 10–11 February 2027
France's largest AI event outside Paris. Some listings give 12–14 February; the official site says 10–11 February. A week later, Touraine Tech (18–19 February, Polytech Tours) takes speaker proposals until 1 November 2026.
Forum INCYBER Europe, Lille: 9–11 March 2027
The Prix de la Start-up is a yearly European prize for young cyber companies and gives winners real visibility with buyers.
DevFest Nantes and Global Industrie: 11–18 March 2027
The main place for industrial and deep tech founders to meet manufacturers. Just before it, DevFest Nantes (11–12 March) moves from its usual October slot to the H Arena; there is a single edition for 2026–2027, and tickets went on sale on 16 October.
Cannes and Strasbourg: MIPIM and Hacking Health Camp, March 2027
For proptech founders looking for real estate buyers and capital; we found no dedicated startup programme. In Strasbourg, Hacking Health Camp runs its 50-hour health hackathon in March 2027 (exact dates not out yet).
MiXiT, Lyon: 22–23 April 2027
A Lyon conference known for its focus on diversity and ethics in tech.
Autumn 2027: September and October
Lyon: SIDO and GO Entrepreneurs, September 2027
The largest general founder fair outside Paris. A week earlier, SIDO (15–16 September, Eurexpo) brings IoT, AI and robotics buyers, with a startup village.
Pollutec, Lyon: 12–15 October 2027
The main French show for cleantech buyers. Media tech founders can look at MIPCOM in Cannes (18–21 October 2027), the TV and content market.
Paris: the biggest calendar in France
Paris has the country's largest single-city calendar. The main dates for 2026–2027:
- Tech Show Paris (18–19 November 2026), free for professionals from user companies, and the Adopt AI Summit (3–4 December 2026, Grand Palais).
- France Digitale AI Day (2 February 2027, Station F), for AI founders and investors.
- ChangeNOW (26–28 April 2027, Grand Palais) for impact founders, and GO Entrepreneurs Paris (28–29 April 2027) for first-time founders.
- VivaTech (16–19 June 2027, Porte de Versailles), Europe's biggest startup show, and the RAISE Summit (6–8 July 2027) for AI.
- Bpifrance BIG, the national gathering of entrepreneurs: the official site says October 2027 at the Accor Arena; the day isn't published. big.bpifrance.fr
Dates, venues, prices and women-founder events are in our full guide to must attend startup events in Paris.
Dates not announced yet
- La Mêlée Numérique, Toulouse: last held on 28 September – 2 October 2026; expected again in autumn 2027. lamelee.com
- Nantes Digital Week: the 13th edition ran on 17–27 September 2026; expected in September 2027. nantesdigitalweek.com
- Le Grand Bain (French Tech Aix-Marseille), Marseille: the 8th edition was on 14 September 2026 at the Palais du Pharo.
- La French Tech Night, Bordeaux (last 25 June 2026), and the Bordeaux Tech'Day with Fund Connect investor meetings (last 11 June 2026).
- Journée Investissements Privés (Lyonbiopôle), Lyon: health startups meet private investors; Lyonbiopôle's plan points to December 2026, but the day isn't published. lyonbiopole.com
- SophI.A Summit, Sophia Antipolis: an AI summit last held on 19–21 November 2025; we found no 2026 edition.
- Montpellier Capital Risque: about 60 investors and 17 startups met on 7 November 2025; no 2026 edition announced yet.
- Developer festivals in summer and autumn: BreizhCamp in Rennes (last 24–26 June 2026), Sunny Tech in Montpellier (2–3 July 2026), Riviera DEV in Sophia Antipolis (6–8 July 2026) and Volcamp in Clermont-Ferrand (1–2 October 2026).
- Prix Moovjee for young founders: the 2026 regional juries met on 6–24 April 2026; the 2027 cycle isn't announced. moovjee.fr
Recurring meetups and communities
- La French Tech Bordeaux: a busy events page with HR clubs, greentech meetups and the Women Café. La French Tech Bordeaux events
- EuraTechnologies, Lille: one of Europe's largest startup campuses, with regular fairs, hackathons and the Campus Cyber Summit. euratechnologies.com
- La Mêlée, Toulouse: the Occitanie digital association, with events through the year. lamelee.com
- Entreprendre Montpellier: regular "Cafés Rencontres pour entreprendre" for new founders; the next was on 20 October 2026. entreprendre-montpellier.com
- GDG chapters in Nantes, Toulouse and Lyon: free developer meetups and the DevFests above.
- Startup Weekend: active chapters in Grenoble, Côte d'Azur and Annecy (last 9–11 October 2026).
- Lyon Start Up: a free four-month programme with a pitch contest, run each autumn. lyonstartup.com
Some names have stopped or changed. Women Who Code closed in April 2024, and Startup Grind has no active chapter in Lyon, Nantes, Toulouse, Marseille, Bordeaux or Lille. GO Entrepreneurs now runs only in Paris and Lyon (no Nantes or Marseille edition), DevFest Lille is now DevLille, and DevFest Nantes moves to March 2027. We found no Global Entrepreneurship Week programme for France in 2026 (the global week is 16–22 November).
Events for women founders in France
We found these women-founder events and programmes:
- Women Café Investisseur, Bordeaux, 5 November 2026: five women founders pitch to investors; apply by 23 October. frenchtechbordeaux.com
- Women's Forum Paris, 17 November 2026: a one-day forum of women leaders (see the Paris guide).
- Sommet des Fondatrices, Paris: the 2026 edition on 10 March brought together more than 500 women founders and 150 investors; expected again in spring 2027.
- Make Her Day (Les Premières): the national network of women-led incubators held its 2026 day on 15 June in Paris; expected again around June 2027. lespremieres.com
- Margaret Awards (Join Forces & Dare): the last call ran from November 2025 to February 2026; the 2027 call isn't announced. joinjfd.com
- Créatrices d'Avenir, Île-de-France: awards for companies at least 50% owned by women; the 2026 call closed on 25 September 2026.
Outside Paris and Bordeaux, women-founder events are rare, so the regional French Tech networks and Les Premières incubators are the best places to ask. For grants, loans and women-focused investors, see our guide to funding for female entrepreneurs. If you organise an event for women founders in France, send it to us and we'll add it.
Funding and support to know before you go
- French Tech Visa: startup founders, employees and investors can get a renewable four-year "Passeport Talent" residence permit, with no separate work permit. La French Tech
- Bourse French Tech: a Bpifrance grant of up to €30,000 for innovation projects at the feasibility stage. Bpifrance
- JEI status (young innovative company): an SME less than 8 years old that spends at least 20% of its costs on R&D can be exempt from employer social contributions; companies created since 1 January 2024 no longer get the profit tax exemption. service-public.gouv.fr
- French Tech Tremplin: incubation and up to €15,000 for founders from under-represented backgrounds; the 2026 cohort has 102 founders. La French Tech
- Honour loans: Initiative France gives interest-free loans with no guarantee through 207 local associations. initiative-france.fr
How to get the most out of France startup events
- Look beyond Paris. French Tech Day in Bordeaux, Capitole du Libre in Toulouse and most local French Tech events are free, and smaller rooms give you more time with investors.
- Pick the city for your sector. Lille and Rennes for cybersecurity, Lyon for industry and cleantech, Cannes for AI, real estate and media, Montpellier for health.
- Apply early for pitch slots. The Women Café in Bordeaux, the Forum INCYBER startup prize and Global Industrie's startup contest select founders weeks ahead. See more startup competitions.
- Speak some French. French Tech days, GO Entrepreneurs and most regional events run in French; WAICF, MIPIM and the cyber forums work in English.
- Ask about Bpifrance on the spot. Bpifrance and the regional development agencies have stands at the big fairs; it is the fastest way to learn which grant or loan fits you.
List your event in this guide
Do you run a startup, tech or investor event in France? Send us the name, dates, venue and official link, and we'll check whether it fits this guide. We list events for founders, with a real date and an official page.
This article is regularly updated with new events. Do you know about an event that needs to be added? Send us some info and we will see if it's a fit.
🔗 Add an awesome event
Startup events in other countries
FAQ
What are the biggest startup events in France?
In Paris: VivaTech (16–19 June 2027) and Bpifrance BIG (October 2027). Outside Paris: WAICF in Cannes (10–11 February 2027), Forum INCYBER Europe in Lille (9–11 March 2027), Global Industrie in Lyon (15–18 March 2027) and GO Entrepreneurs Lyon (23 September 2027).
Are there startup events outside Paris?
Yes. Lille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Marseille, Montpellier, Rennes, Nantes, Grenoble, Tours, Strasbourg and Cannes all have dated events in this guide.
Are there free startup events in France?
Yes. French Tech Day in Bordeaux (19 November 2026) and Capitole du Libre in Toulouse (14–15 November 2026) are free with registration, and Tech Show Paris is free for professionals from user companies.
Where can I pitch my startup in France?
At the Women Café Investisseur in Bordeaux, the Lyon Start Up final, Startup Weekend Grenoble and Côte d'Azur, the Forum INCYBER startup prize and the startup contest at Global Industrie in Lyon.
Are there events for women founders in France?
Yes: the Women Café Investisseur (Bordeaux, 5 November 2026), the Women's Forum Paris (17 November 2026), the Sommet des Fondatrices (expected spring 2027) and Make Her Day by Les Premières (expected June 2027).
Can foreign founders start a company in France?
Yes, through the French Tech Visa, which gives startup founders a renewable four-year "Passeport Talent" residence permit. Read more in our guide to startup events in Paris.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
