TL;DR The most compelling pairing is CoTer Numérique (June 23-24, public-sector IT congress, 1 300+ attendees) immediately followed by the free Fête de l’Innovation (June 25, startup pitches + networking). For cybersecurity specialists, HS’R CTF runs 5-6 June at URCA. Community meetups are sparse — Sacrée Tech is the main recurring developer series, active but infrequent.
2026 calendar at a glance
| Event | Dates | Type | Audience | Cost | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HS’R CTF | Jun 5-6 | CTF + talks | Students, cybersecurity | Free | URCA Moulin de la Housse |
| CoTer Numérique | Jun 23-24 | Congress | Public-sector DSI/RSSI | Paid | Centre de Congrès de Reims |
| Fête de l’Innovation | Jun 25 | Networking / demo | Startups, researchers, all | Free | Villa Douce, Bd de la Paix |
| TERRITORIALIS | Oct 1-2 | Congress | Territorial managers | Paid | Centre de Congrès de Reims |
| Sacrée Tech | Irregular | Meetup | Developers, all levels | Free | ESGI Reims / Ikoula DC |
CoTer Numérique — 35th edition
June 23-24, 2026 · Centre de Congrès de Reims [1]
France’s main congress for IT directors and CISOs of collectivités territoriales (local governments). The 35th edition’s theme is digital sovereignty: AI in public services, NIS2 compliance, cloud strategy, and data governance. [2]
- Scale: 120+ workshops, plenaries, and round tables; ~1 300 participants in 2025 [3]
- Exhibitors: open-source stack vendors (Nextcloud, GLPI, Zimbra), cybersecurity firms, cloud providers [4]
- Registration: congres.coter-numerique.org (member portal; pricing not public)
- Fit for visitors: highly specialised toward French public-sector IT — relevant if you work in that domain or want to prospect the sector; less relevant for private-sector developers
A preparatory day (JET) is scheduled June 22, making the full run June 22-24 for active participants. [1]
Fête de l’Innovation — 2026 edition
June 25, 2026 · 16:00-23:00 · Villa Douce, 9 Bd de la Paix, Reims [5]
Free evening event co-organised by Innovact, PUI InnoRem, and French Tech Est. Programme: [6]
- 16:00 — Grand Pitch: startup pitches to a live audience
- 18:00 — Innovation Village opens (startups + research labs)
- 20:30 — Cocktail networking
Target audience is broad: startups, researchers, companies, students. [7] Well-suited to close a CoTer Numérique weekend — different vibe (open and convivial vs. professional congress).
Registration via Weezevent; past editions were free with mandatory RSVP.
HS’R by HackSecu’R — CTF overnight
June 5-6, 2026 · 21:00→9:00 · URCA, campus Moulin de la Housse [8]
8th edition of Reims’ student-run cybersecurity competition, co-sponsored by DGSE and Root-Me. [8] Format: day-sessions with company talks and exhibitor stands, then an overnight Jeopardy-style CTF. AI tools are banned for 2026 (stated explicitly on the website). Organised by the HackSecu’R student association and URCA’s Master Networks & Telecom. [9]
Primarily student-oriented but open to external participants; good entry point for the local security community.
TERRITORIALIS 2026
October 1-2, 2026 · Centre de Congrès de Reims [10]
Annual congress of the SNDGCT (national union of territorial directors-general). Theme: “Avoir confiance & agir ensemble”. Scale: ~1 700 participants, 70 exhibitors, 20 conferences/workshops in 2025. [10] Digital transformation and e-government topics run throughout, but the audience is general territorial management, not IT specialists. Useful context if your work intersects public administration.
Community: Sacrée Tech meetups
Sacrée Tech is Reims’ main developer community, gathering local tech groups for talks and networking. Events are held at rotating venues — the ESGI Reims campus and Ikoula’s datacenter (34 rue du Pont Assy) have both hosted editions. [11] [12]
Recent edition topics (March 2025): interactive mapping with Leaflet/MongoDB, and a talk questioning “technical debt” as a concept. Earlier editions included datacenter tours + AI/UI component talks. Frequency is irregular (roughly quarterly). Contact: hello@sacreetech.fr.
No dedicated 2026 event dates were announced at time of research (June 2026); check their Meetup page or Agenda du Libre for updates.
Ecosystem context
| Actor | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Innovact | Excellence incubator, 20+ years in Reims | Runs 2-4 investor speed-dating events/yr |
| French Tech Est | Regional tech community, 250+ members | Organises Fête de l’Innovation + others |
| Wild Code School Reims | Coding bootcamp (web dev, 5-month program) | Occasional local open days |
| URCA | University with CS/networks research | Hosts HS’R CTF, academic conferences |
| Ikoula | French hoster with DC in Reims | Occasional venue for Sacrée Tech tours |
| Grand Reims → VivaTech [13] | 4 Reims startups at VivaTech Paris 2026 | Reims companies present at national stage |
Practical notes for a weekend visit
- Best weekend hook: June 23-25 stacks CoTer Numérique (Tue-Wed) + Fête de l’Innovation (Thu evening). Three evenings in Reims with a meaningful tech programme.
- CoTer Numérique access: registration is through the coTer member portal; non-members may need to contact the organisers directly. Budget travel for a congress-level paid event.
- Fête de l’Innovation: fully open; register via Weezevent. Best solo access point for an IT visitor.
- HS’R: requires being present late-night into early morning; primarily a student event, but company stands during the day are accessible.
- Outside June/October: the tech event calendar is thin. Sacrée Tech is the only recurring option, but dates are not pre-announced far in advance.