Eight months after the March 2026 municipal elections, many municipal teams are taking stock of their food service operations: central kitchens, food preparation areas, staff cafeterias, and cafeteria registration and payment. The Mayors and Local Governments Trade Show is one of the few places where you can meet suppliers for each of these components in a single day.
This guide compiles official information about the 2026 edition, highlights related to school and institutional food services, and a method for turning your visit into useful decisions for your municipality.
Key Points: The 2026 Mayors and Local Governments Fair will be held from Tuesday, November 24, through Thursday, November 26, at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles (Pavilion 7), concurrently with the Mayors’ Congress. Admission is free upon registration. For municipalities that operate school cafeterias or self-service dining halls, this is an opportunity to spend three days comparing solutions for ordering, payment processing, and meal tracking, and to attend the conference on Egalim on November 25.
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The trade show is celebrating its 30th edition under the theme “Boldness Is Local.” The organizer reports more than 1,300 exhibitors, more than 60,000 visitors, and more than 400 presentations.
The Mayors' Fair is held concurrently with the Sports and Para-Sports Fair and the Biodiversity and Ecological Engineering Fair. The Congress of Mayors and Intermunicipal Association Presidents of France, organized by the Association of French Mayors, takes place on the same dates at the Porte de Versailles. These are separate events: the fair badge does not grant access to the Congress sessions.
The audience includes elected officials, heads of departments, technical managers, and public procurement officers. In the food service sector, a single meeting might therefore bring together the deputy mayor for education, the manager of the central kitchen, and the public procurement department.
The full program is available online on the official website. Three events are directly related to the restaurant industry.
A conference on the Egalim Act is scheduled for Wednesday, November 25, at 1:15 p.m., in the Arène de l'Audace (Pavilion 7.3). Public institutional food service must serve at least 50% sustainable, high-quality products, including at least 20% organic products. Meeting these goals within a tight budget requires knowing exactly what is purchased, served, and consumed.
Wednesday, November 25, is devoted to social innovation, with food among the topics covered. Thursday, November 26, is dedicated to youth. These are two valuable days if you’re considering issues such as subsidized school meal pricing, families’ access to the service, or after-school care.
The “Vis ta Ville” spaces showcase real-life scenarios from municipal life, including “At a Child’s Eye Level” and “The Connected City Hall.” They allow visitors to see solutions in context rather than just in a brochure.
This is the dilemma facing many municipalities at the start of their terms: while meal quality is improving thanks to Egalim, so are the costs of food, energy, and staff. There is often less room for maneuver in purchase prices than in the organization of the service.
According to the updated ADEME study on the costs of food waste in institutional food service, the average total cost will reach €1.03 per meal in 2025, compared to €0.68 in 2016. Discarded food accounts for only a portion of this cost (€0.45); the remainder corresponds to labor, energy, and waste management (€0.59). School meal programs have the highest average cost, at €1.12 per meal.
Yet the amounts are decreasing: from an average of 113 g to 98 g wasted per meal, and from 143 g to 98.65 g in school cafeterias. The staff is making progress, but every gram costs more. Accurately measuring what’s left on the trays makes it possible to adjust recipes, portions, and the quantities produced—without serving less.
During a short lunch break, every minute spent waiting in line for service or at the cash register is taken out of lunch time. When checkout is faster, guests can enjoy their lunch in a more pleasant setting, and staff can focus on serving rather than re-entering orders.
No single tool can solve these issues on its own. The results depend first and foremost on the kitchen and dining room staff, on communication with families, and on long-term management. Kikleo, a specialist in measuring food waste, sums it up this way: “AI is not a magic bullet. On its own, it doesn’t change anything. What it provides is data. ” The technology provides facts to inform decision-making: what is being consumed, what isn’t, and where service is slowing down.
Three days go by quickly in a pavilion this size. Make a short list of exhibitors and prepare the same set of questions for all of them: that way, you can compare the answers when you get back.
To save time at the event, schedule appointments in advance with the exhibitors you're interested in and bring your key figures: number of locations, meals served per day, and current payment methods.
Innovorder is participating for the first time in the Salon des Maires, at a shared booth with its partner Kikleo: Hall 7, Booth C09, in the “Health, Social Services, Children & Community Life” section. The two teams are presenting a joint approach there: reducing operational costs in institutional food service without compromising the dining experience.
At the booth, you'll be able to see a self-driving test track under real-world conditions:
“Table scanning allows us to improve efficiency, since it takes just a few seconds per guest,” explains Roland Dichiara of API Restauration. Innovorder currently serves 250 institutional dining sites, which serve 20 million meals per year.
Meet our experts at the 2026 Mayors' Fair. Book a time slot at booth C09 in Hall 7 to discuss the revitalization of your community. Schedule an appointment
👉 Learn more: Sirha Lyon 2027: Plan Your Visit to the Food Service Trade Show
Tuesday, November 24, through Thursday, November 26, 2026, at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, Hall 7.
From 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on November 24 and 25, and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on November 26.
No. The visitor pass is free; you just need to register online.
No. The conference, organized by the Association of French Mayors, and the trade show are held on the same dates and at the same location, but they are two separate events.
Yes, a conference on Egalim is scheduled for Wednesday, November 25, at 1:15 p.m. in the Arène de l'Audace (Pavilion 7.3). Check the official program for updates.
According to ADEME, the average total cost will reach €1.03 per meal in 2025, and €1.12 for school meals, taking into account food, labor, energy, and waste management.
Hall 7, Booth C09, at the shared booth with Kikleo.
