Anglers ‘baffled’ as French industry-backed fishing show is cancelled

In a move that has been described as ‘ridiculous and baffling’, the French fishing tackle industry-backed show in Nantes, which made its debut last year, has been cancelled for 2026.

In a press release distributed to social media, the organiser of the Festival National de la Pêche confirmed that the event, scheduled to take place from April 17 to 19 has been called off.

The release read: “Many of you have made the Festival National de la Pêche 2025 a moment of sharing and passion, and we sincerely thank you for it.

“In order to maintain this momentum and prepare for the future in the best possible conditions, the Festival will not be held in 2026. We are already working on the next stage of the event.

“Thank you for your support and passion.

“See you soon to continue sharing our common passion.”

Fishing News, the French-based website for the sport, said the move had left all fishing enthusiasts baffled. “No indication was given as to the reason for this ridiculous decision,” it said.

The show, which was organised by the French industry trade body, GIFAP (Groupement de l’Industrie Française d’Pièces de Pêche) and Exponantes in partnership with the Confédération Mer et Liberté (CML), had been seen as the successor for the Clermont-Ferrand Fishing Show.

As exclusively reported in this month’s Angling International, the Carrefour National de la Peche des Loisirs (CNPL) was consigned to history after 30 years, to be replaced in 2027 by a leisure and outdoor event.

Fishing News has called the move a backwards step that could have a serious impact on the leisure fishing industry and on the enthusiasm of fishing enthusiasts.

“The slow death of the Clermont-Ferrand show was not unrelated to the establishment of the Festival National de la Pêche in Nantes. One edition later, the future of fishing shows looks bleak,” added Fishing News.