Leather industry body Alliance France Cuir has described its participation at the 2024 Made In France exhibition as a success. The event took place at the Porte de Versailles in Paris from November 8 -11. By Leatherbiz.

Across the four days, Alliance France Cuir said it had been able to engage more than 1,000 visitors in meaningful conversations about the importance of the leather industry in France. Notably, two of the visitors were government ministers.

The secretary of state for consumer affairs, Laurence Garnier, was one of the visitors to Alliance France Cuir stand. The minister with responsibility for rural affairs and artisanship, Françoise Gatel, also spent time there.

Another member of the French parliament, Christophe Blanchet, and a member of the European parliament, François Kalfon, were also among the visitors.

Alliance France Cuir said afterwards that it had sought to put across as clearly as possible to the politicians and to all visitors that the leather sector is of great importance to many communities across France.

It pointed out that 80% of the industry there is made up of small and medium-sized companies. It also said that the leather industry is “a major Made-In-France player”, creating jobs for 133,000 people and generating export revenues of €19 billion per year.

“We need support to be able to preserve our savoir-faire and to be able to keep manufacturing in France,” the organisation said.