Du 26 TO 30 NOVEMBER 2025Paris will reconnect with the call of the open sea through an event that many have been waiting for: the Paris Nautic Show. To Le Bourget Exhibition CenterNautical activities will once again take over the capital with the ambition of breathing new life into a tradition that spans generations. For five days, amateurs, professionals, families and sea dreamers will be invited to sail without leaving the city, to explore the boats, to meet the people involved in the industry, to listen, learn, touch, breathe: an open door to escape.
A historic return fueled by almost a century of memory
The Paris Boat Show is not a recent event. It was born in 1926, at a time when the French maritime industry was still in its infancy. Over the decades, it has changed locations, growing with the market, moving from the Quai Albert to La Défense, and then to the Porte de Versailles. Each period marked a milestone, each edition wrote a chapter in the nation's maritime history. Today, its return to Le Bourget opens a new cycle, symbolizing a deliberate renewal and a desire to rethink the event in both its structure and its ambition. The press kit describes this move as the dawn of a new era, a return that builds on its heritage while looking towards the future.
French boating, a powerful sector that deserves its own stage
Behind this boat show lies a considerable economic reality. The French nautical industry alone comprises 6,322 companies, over 42,000 employees, and a turnover exceeding €5,4 billion, nearly 80% of which is generated from exports. These figures, taken from the press kit, demonstrate a robust sector that creates jobs and has a strong international focus. It is also a powerful cultural activity, embraced by eleven million French people who regularly go boating, whether sailing, motorboating, or participating in watersports. The boat show thus serves as a reminder that the sea is an economic, social, and emotional territory; that it inspires vocations, trains professionals, and unites people.
Five days of exchange, emotion and encounters
At the heart of the event, visitors will discover a trade show pace designed for living, learning, and immersion. The skipper Yannick Bestaven, winner of the 2020-2021 Vendée Globe, will be the official patron of the 2025 Paris Nautic Show. He will be present on November 26, 27, and 28 to meet the public, share his experience, and convey the unique perspective that only those who have experienced the open sea possess. His role in the event will not be symbolic, but profoundly human: a sailor returning to shore to share his experiences beyond the horizon.
Yannick Bestaven: Portrait of a sailor returning from the ends of the earth
There are sailors who write technical entries in the rankings, and then there are those who write stories in the collective imagination. Yannick Bestaven resolutely belongs to the latter category. A skipper, engineer, entrepreneur as much as a sailor, he has made the sea a testing ground for innovation as much as a space of freedom. His victorious Vendée Globe in 2020-2021, won with courage, strategic skill in the wind, and a quiet demeanor, forged his image as a complete sailor: solid, humble, made for the ocean and for storytelling.
He sails as one thinks, with lucidity. He faces challenges as one breathes, naturally. He returns from the open sea with the perspective of those who have seen the night twist into storms, the sun rise like a promise, and the sea offer its most beautiful pages to those who know how to stay at the helm. At the Paris Nautic Show, Yannick Bestaven will be more than a guest. He will be a guiding light. The man who will remind us, by his presence, that sailing is not just a sport or an industry: it is a way of life. He shares, inspires, questions, bears witness. He gives a face to the word ocean.
His role as patron is therefore a natural fit: to bring the spirit of the open sea into the aisles of the boat show, to put words to the sea spray, to tell of what is not always seen: courage, patience, beauty, the infinite. A boat show is not simply about displaying boats; it embodies a culture. And Bestaven will be its voice.
Innovation as the guiding principle and horizon of tomorrow's nautical industry
At the heart of this 2025 edition lies a clear conviction: the future of boating lies in innovation. To bring this idea to life, the show will host the Cap Innovation competition, an event designed to showcase inventions, technical solutions, and naval approaches aimed at transforming boating practices. The selected projects will be evaluated by a jury chaired by Bestaven, comprised of specialists in maritime engineering and the nautical transition. Three awards will recognize creative, digital, and environmental initiatives, making innovation a driving force for action rather than just rhetoric.
World premieres and a wave of new features
The world premiere of Beneteau Gran Turismo 50 – Alpine Edition will be among the show's key reveals, along with the presentation of the 2025 version of the Amel 60, the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 455S, and the new generation Lagoon 38. Catamarans, monohulls, hybrid boats, and river cruisers will follow one another, offering a comprehensive overview of contemporary boating. This selection reflects a creative, vibrant, and ambitious market.
The Paris Nautic Show prides itself on its openness. It welcomes with equal warmth families discovering the sea for the first time, seasoned sailors coming to compare hulls, boat builders seeking new markets, or simply curious visitors coming to breathe in the sea air. The show doesn't divide: it connects the maritime world.
More than just a trade show, the Paris Nautic Show will be a celebration. A rebirth. A bridge between the history of French boating and the years to come. Yannick Bestaven will embody its spirit, the ocean will be its backdrop, and the public will be its lifeblood.
Patrick Koune
Practical information
26 TO 30 NOVEMBER 2025
Paris-Le Bourget Exhibition Center
Free shuttle every 15 minutes from Le Bourget (RER B)
Accessible via La Chapelle metro station → line 350
Parking spaces available at Gate L and Gate P5
