Technology & Innovation
CES — Consumer Electronics Show
Las Vegas | January | 170,000+ attendees. The world's largest tech show. French Tech has a pavilion. Best for: hardware, IoT, AI, automotive tech, health tech, smart home. ces.tech →
SXSW — South by Southwest
Austin, TX | March | 300,000+ attendees. Tech, media, music, film, culture convergence. Best for: startups, SaaS, media, entertainment, social impact. Strong international presence. sxsw.com →
AWS re:Invent / Dreamforce / SaaStr
Cloud and SaaS-focused mega-events. Dreamforce (Salesforce, San Francisco, September) and SaaStr Annual (San Mateo, February). Essential for B2B SaaS companies.
Retail, Fashion & Consumer Goods
NRF — National Retail Federation
New York | January | 40,000+ attendees. "Retail's Big Show." Must for any French retail or retail-tech company. Buyers from every major US retailer attend. nrf.com →
MAGIC Las Vegas / New York Fashion Week
Las Vegas (February/August) and NYC (February/September). Fashion, apparel, accessories. Business France often supports French fashion brands with pavilions. Key for French fashion companies.
ProWein USA / Unified Wine & Grape Symposium
US wine and spirits trade. For French wine exporters seeking US importers and distributors. Unified Symposium (Sacramento, January), Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America Summit (May).
National Restaurant Association Show
Chicago | May. US food service industry. Best for French food manufacturers, equipment makers, and food tech entering US restaurant and hospitality markets.
Join the French Tech Pavilion at CES or SXSW
Business France and La French Tech organize collective pavilions at major US trade shows — shared booth space, collective promotion, and a French delegation that makes you more visible. Often lower cost than going alone. Check businessfrance.fr/events for the annual calendar of supported shows and how to participate.
How to Maximize Your US Trade Show ROI
- Pre-show outreach: Email your top 50 target contacts 3 weeks before saying "I'll be at [Show] — can we schedule 30 minutes?" Most meetings happen via pre-scheduled appointments, not random booth visits.
- US-localized materials: English, USD pricing, US case studies, US-format business cards (no accents or special characters), US phone number (Google Voice), .com website
- Demo-ready: Americans want live demos. If you have software, have it working. If hardware, bring functioning prototypes. Static slides lose US buyers fast.
- Follow-up speed: US buyers expect follow-up within 24–48 hours of meeting. Personalized email, not generic. Connect on LinkedIn immediately. Have a simple CRM to track conversations.
- Have a US contact: Give them a US phone number (Grasshopper, Google Voice, or a Gershon partner number) to call. "Call us in France" kills deals.
US Company Setup
Legal entity before the show
Partner Program
US trade show support from Gershon