French economics minister to attend MAPIC

Christine Lagarde, the French Minister for the Economy, Industry and Employment, will attend MAPIC as part of the programme focused on France, the guest of honour at the 16th edition of this international market for retail real estate.

'We are honoured to welcome Christine Lagarde to MAPIC. Her presence will be much appreciated by French executives operating in the retail real estate industry and who are proving particularly resilient during the current crisis when compared to their international counterparts,' said MAPIC director Nathalie Depetro.

France has been a loyal supporter since the very first MAPIC and is still the best-represented country, she added. 'Given the quality of its projects and the dynamism of its professionals, particularly on the international scene, we want to pay tribute to the expertise and know-how of France’s decision-makers. France holds a leading position in Europe's retail real estate industry with 880,000 m² of new retail space in shopping centres planned to open in 2011.'

For the 7,000 professionals from five continents expected this year at MAPIC, Christine Lagarde’s global renown will give international resonance to debates on core industry issues, such as tomorrow’s trade concerns, the impact of new modes of consumption, high growth in emerging countries and the need to build retail activities into a global strategy for sustainable urban planning. All these topics will be addressed in the various lectures and discussion platforms during the three days of this market.