Geohistory of the Toulouse International Fair (1928 - 2023)[Géohistoire de la Foire internationale de Toulouse (1928 - 2023)]

Through a collaborative scientific project, Toulouse Evénements GL events wants to show the economic and social role of the Toulouse International Fair since 1928. The objective of this retrospective is to mobilize all the archival sources of the metropolis but also of economic and private associations to produce a communication on the opening day of the fair to the Mayor of Toulouse, his deputies, but also to the presidency of the regional and departmental council (the International Fair of Toulouse and the historical retrospective on the occasion of the 90th edition). Patrice Ballester recalls the importance of the economic role of the Fair for the third largest city in France. The contemporary fair was inaugurated at Cours Dillon in temporary equipment in 1928 by its first President, Mr Marcel Roguet, declaring on this occasion "Toulouse, already an intellectual capital, wants to be an economic capital; our fair will help him do that". On Sunday October 14, 1928, under the impetus of Mr Félix Durel, a senior civil servant, Mr Delfort, vice-president of the regional committee for foreign trade and Mr Etienne Billières, mayor of Toulouse, the 1st Toulouse Fair was inaugurated. In 1938, beyond Cours Dillon, the Prairie des Filtres offered a pleasant setting for the meeting of economic players, there were no less than 700 exhibitors and more than 200,000 visitors, a record. In addition, the fair aims to be an event open to consumers through professional marketing and sales techniques. We are witnessing the beginning of business and leisure tourism with a fair as a framework and place of life for all Toulouse residents, but also for visitors from all over France. As such, the geographer Daniel Faucher indicated in 1929 in an article in the scientific journal Géocarrefour that this event was "a public consecration; it created an atmosphere of sympathy around it". From 1952, the fair complex was designated as the new "Parc des Expositions de Toulouse". That same year, Yvan Lacassagne became Chairman of the Board of Directors of SNFERT and inaugurated the brand new Hall of Languedoc, the objective of which is to respond to and support the economic growth of the post-war boom period. This resulted in the construction in 1952-1953 of the entrance portico and the administrative building. This architecture symbolizes the renewal of the fair and the new ambitions in economic matters. The Toulouse International Fair becomes a medium for reminding Toulouse residents of the effects of globalization and European construction. This is becoming a good means for local authorities to define objectives and mobilize the players in the region. We must prepare for 1992 and the enlarged EEC with Spain, Portugal and Greece as new countries entering the common market. In addition, with the modernization of reception facilities and significant investments in the field of telecommunications and services offered to visitors-exhibitors, the show is part of the competition through the economic players present. The Foire de Toulouse and the communication department of the regional metropolis have always had the concern of highlighting the know-how of the region and in particular of the industrial and aeronautical sector. Moreover, Toulouse also exhibited at the Chongqing International Fair in 1988 (the largest Chinese city with 32 million inhabitants in 2023), from fair to fair, a long chain of correspondence of values and destiny is made day… On the social level and consumer consumption, the international fair of Toulouse is an enriched portrait of the Toulouse society based on the daily needs and the purchases - important investments of a life.