The real estate world gathers in Cannes, with an eye on the Middle East.

As in 2022, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine two weeks before the International Real Estate Professionals Market (MIPIM) disrupted participants, the 2026 edition of the show comes one week after the start of the American-Israeli offensive in Iran.

"In terms of presence, there is normally no change," Nicolas Boffi, the new director of Mipim since September, told AFP, adding that he is closely monitoring the situation, particularly for his staff based in the Middle East.

Delegations from Saudi Arabia and Oman have confirmed their participation in the event, which in 2025 attracted more than 20.000 participants. These included mainly investors, developers, planners, real estate asset managers, and public representatives from cities.

According to Irène Fossé, Director of Research and Strategy at the real estate fund manager AEW, the war in the Middle East will be among the major topics discussed at the trade show. "One of the key discussions at MIPIM," she said. She emphasized, however, that it is still too early to gauge the potential impact of the conflict on inflation, interest rates, investments, and, more broadly, on the real estate market.

"It will depend on the duration of the conflict and its escalation," adds Nicolas Boffi, who believes that "geopolitics has more impact on real estate today" because "the current world is an uncertain world with a more complicated geopolitical context."

By 2025, the real estate sector had already had to deal with several factors of uncertainty: geopolitical tensions, political instability in France, announcements of increased tariffs by Donald Trump in the United States, as well as office occupancy by companies still lower than pre-pandemic levels.

"A new impetus"

Despite these difficulties, the real estate sector "has fared rather well", with an increase in investments in France and Europe, emphasizes Irène Fossé.

Fundraising and collection efforts turned positive again last year, which means that "there is a little more money available for real estate," says Nicolas Verdillon, France investment director at corporate real estate advisor CBRE.

In this context, MIPIM is part of "a deliberate exit from the crisis, with renewed momentum," affirms its organizer, Nicolas Boffi. For the opening address, he has invited economist Philippe Aghion, Nobel laureate in economics, who will speak on the challenges related to technology, growth, and the transformation of economic activities.

Faced with market changes, diversification has become the watchword for professionals. The goal is to no longer depend solely on office real estate, a segment that has been struggling for several years due to the rise of remote work and a lack of confidence among executives, who prioritize investments in their business rather than their premises.

In 2025, 1,6 million square meters of office space were leased or sold to new tenants in the Paris region, the lowest level since 2002 (excluding the Covid period), according to Alexandre Fontaine, CBRE's Ile-de-France office director. He specifies, however, that this figure does not include the numerous lease renegotiations by existing tenants, which were particularly frequent last year.

Faced with this declining demand, investors are now favouring "prime" offices, that is to say, well-located, modern buildings with hotel-inspired services.

Offices nevertheless remain the primary destination for real estate investments in France and the second in Europe, behind housing, notes Nicolas Verdillon.

Investors are also turning to housing—particularly student residences—as well as hotels and data centers, all particularly dynamic sectors. These topics will be central to several MIPIM conferences, notably data centers, which will benefit from a summit entirely dedicated to them for the first time.

As with the last two editions, the fair will begin on Monday with a half-day dedicated to housing challenges. This session will present solutions for developing an affordable housing supply and will welcome the French Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Vincent Jeanbrun.

"A historically significant number of Housing Ministers" are participating in the 2026 edition, according to Nicolas Boffi, including ministers from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Oman and Uganda.