The clinical conferences worth attending in France: a 2026–2027 guide by speciality

France hosts some of the best-attended medical congresses in Europe, anchored by strong national societies and a continuing-education system, the Développement Professionnel Continu (DPC), that gives conference attendance a formal role in every clinician's career. For GPs and specialists planning the year ahead, this guide covers the national congresses that matter most, when and where they run, and how to choose between them.

How these events were selected

Each event is organised or endorsed by the recognised national society for its speciality, runs annually at scale, and has a track record of peer-reviewed programming. Small, unverified, or one-off events, and the international "case report" congresses that fill aggregator listings, are excluded. Dates rotate year to year, so always confirm on the organiser's own site before booking.

For general practitioners

Congrès de la Médecine Générale France (CMGF). The largest annual gathering of French GPs, organised by the Collège de la Médecine Générale and held each spring at the Palais des Congrès, Porte Maillot, with around 4,000 participants, over 300 speakers, and ten thematic tracks. The 2026 edition ran 26–28 March; 2027 dates will be confirmed on the congress site. Its programme deliberately mixes clinical updates with sessions on e-santé, patient communication, and the realities of running a cabinet, including sessions covering ambient AI documentation tools.

Journées Nationales de Médecine Générale (JNMG). A second, more compact national GP congress held each October in Paris, useful for clinicians who can't make the spring CMGF or who want a clinically focused update mid-year.

By speciality

Cardiology: Journées Européennes de la Société Française de Cardiologie (JESFC). France's flagship cardiology meeting, held each January at the Palais des Congrès de Paris. The 37th edition runs 13–15 January 2027, marking the SFC's 90th anniversary, with a programme built around personalised medicine and a dedicated digital and simulation village; registration and programme are on Cardio-online. JESFC also serves as the French cardiology community's staging post ahead of the European Society of Cardiology Congress, which is run from the ESC's headquarters in Sophia Antipolis even when the congress itself sits in another European city.

Gastroenterology: Journées Francophones d'Hépato-gastroentérologie et d'Oncologie Digestive (JFHOD).Organised by the SNFGE, JFHOD is the largest digestive medicine congress in the French-speaking world, drawing over 5,000 participants from more than 50 countries. The 2027 edition runs 11–14 March 2027 at the Palais des Congrès de Paris, with Canada as guest country and ethics as its theme, and is also available live online with replay until 30 April 2027.

Psychiatry: Congrès Français de Psychiatrie (CFP). The leading annual psychiatry congress, rotating between French cities. The 18th edition runs 2–5 December 2026 in Strasbourg at the Palais de la Musique et des Congrès, on the theme "Politique," with over 170 hours of sessions available on the e-CFP platform until 28 March 2027. It includes dedicated days for nursing and paramedical research, medico-social care, and old-age psychiatry, making it relevant well beyond psychiatrists.

Dermatology: Journées Dermatologiques de Paris (JDP). The Société Française de Dermatologie's national congress, held each December in Paris, covering inflammatory skin disease, skin cancer, procedural dermatology, and biologics, with structured DPC-eligible sessions.

Rheumatology: Congrès Français de Rhumatologie. The Société Française de Rhumatologie's annual congress, held each December in Paris. It translates international trial data into French clinical practice and is relevant to physiotherapists and GPs managing patients on long-term disease-modifying therapy, not only rheumatologists.

Emergency medicine: Urgences. The Société Française de Médecine d'Urgence's congress, held each June in Paris, covering triage, pre-hospital care, acute pathways, and emergency documentation under time pressure.

Anaesthesia and intensive care: Congrès de la SFAR. The Société Française d'Anesthésie et de Réanimation's national congress, held each September in Paris, addressing perioperative care, patient safety, and critical care protocols, with growing attention to decision support and monitoring technology.

Paediatrics: Congrès de la Société Française de Pédiatrie. The SFP's congress, held each spring and rotating between cities, brings together paediatricians, neonatologists, and GPs with paediatric caseloads for updates on child health guidelines and vaccination policy.

Internal medicine: Congrès de la SNFMI. The Société Nationale Française de Médecine Interne runs two congresses a year, in June and December, whose multidisciplinary scope makes them relevant to GPs managing multimorbidity as well as to internists.

The cross-speciality event: SantExpo

SantExpo, formerly Paris Healthcare Week, is organised by the Fédération Hospitalière de France and is the largest health-system event in France. The 2026 edition drew 37,180 participants and 696 exhibitors across 304 sessions; the 2027 edition runs 25–27 May 2027 at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, Hall 1, with free registration for professionals. Unlike speciality congresses, SantExpo addresses the operational side of care: hospital information systems, workforce, and, prominently in recent years, AI in health. It's the right event for clinical leaders, CME presidents, DSI teams, and anyone involved in digital change rather than clinical updating alone.

How to choose

Three considerations matter more than the rest for French clinicians:

• DPC eligibility. French doctors carry a three-yearly DPC obligation, managed through the Agence nationale du DPC (ANDPC). Confirm a congress's sessions are registered as DPC actions if you need them to count; most national society congresses offer eligible sessions, but not every session qualifies, and international congresses often don't.

• Depth versus breadth. Speciality congresses (JESFC, JFHOD, CFP) give direct clinical applicability; SantExpo gives systemic and technological exposure. Early-career clinicians tend to get more from the former, service leads from the latter.

• Format. Most major French congresses now run hybrid or replay options, JFHOD and the CFP both offer several months of on-demand access, which matters for clinicians with clinical commitments or outside Île-de-France, though in-person attendance still carries most of the networking value.

What's changing on the programme

Across the French congress calendar, AI-assisted clinical documentation has moved from side-session to main programme: JESFC 2027 has a dedicated digital village. The reason is practical: French hospitals are now deploying it. The Hôpital Fondation Adolphe de Rothschild in Paris adopted Tandem's AI medical assistant across several departments in 2025 after a summer pilot, with one cardiologist noting that his 30-minute consultation now goes on dialogue rather than typing, and that the patient leaves with the letter to their médecin traitant already written. Tandem has since established its clinical AI hub in the Paris Region, working alongside Rothschild and Hôpital Foch, and a peer-reviewed evaluation of 236,153 notes at Capio Ramsay Santé comes from a Ramsay Santé group provider.

For French clinicians attending any of the congresses above, the sessions on ambient documentation, RGPD-compliant data handling, and the EU AI Act are increasingly where the practical conversation about daily workload is happening. Conference exposure to validated tools is, more often than not, where adoption in a real cabinet or service begins. Tandem's French-language resources on the technology are at tandemhealth.ai/fr.

Frequently asked questions

▶ What are the most important clinical conferences in France for practising clinicians?

For GPs, the Congrès de la Médecine Générale France each spring. By speciality: JESFC for cardiology, JFHOD for digestive medicine, the Congrès Français de Psychiatrie for mental health, and the SFR, SFD, SFMU, SFAR, and SFP national congresses. For health-system and digital topics, SantExpo, organised by the Fédération Hospitalière de France.

▶ How were the conferences on this list selected?

Each is organised or endorsed by the recognised national society for its speciality, runs annually at scale, and has peer-reviewed programming. Small, unverified, or one-off events, and the international "case report" congresses that fill aggregator listings, were excluded.

▶ Which French medical conference is most relevant for clinicians working across multiple specialities?

SantExpo, formerly Paris Healthcare Week. The 2026 edition drew 37,180 participants and 696 exhibitors; the 2027 edition runs 25–27 May at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, Hall 1. It covers hospital information systems, workforce, and AI in health, so it suits clinical leaders and anyone involved in digital change more than clinicians seeking speciality updates.

▶ How should a clinician choose which conference to attend?

Prioritise congresses run by the national or European society for your speciality, since they're most likely to carry DPC-eligible sessions. Then weigh depth against breadth: speciality congresses give direct clinical applicability, SantExpo gives systemic and technological exposure. Career stage usually decides which matters more.

▶ Do major French medical conferences offer virtual or hybrid attendance options?

Most now do. JFHOD 2027 streams live with replay until 30 April 2027; the CFP 2026 makes its 170+ hours of sessions available on the e-CFP platform until 28 March 2027. Hybrid access suits clinicians outside Île-de-France or with clinical commitments, though in-person attendance still carries most of the networking value.

▶ Is the European Society of Cardiology congress based in France?

The ESC is headquartered in Sophia Antipolis, near Nice, and organises the world's largest cardiology meeting, but the congress itself rotates between European cities. French cardiologists form a significant share of its faculty and attendees, and JESFC in January serves as the national staging post ahead of it.

▶ What role is AI playing at clinical conferences in France?

A growing one, moving from side-session to main programme. JESFC 2027 has a dedicated digital and simulation village. The driver is real deployment: the Hôpital Fondation Adolphe de Rothschild adopted Tandem's AI medical assistant across several departments in 2025, and a peer-reviewed evaluation of 236,153 notes at Capio Ramsay Santé comes from a Ramsay Santé provider.

▶ Which conference is most relevant for general practitioners?

The CMGF, with around 4,000 GPs each March at the Palais des Congrès, Porte Maillot, mixing clinical updates with e-santé and cabinet-management sessions. The JNMG in October offers a compact autumn alternative, and the SNFMI internal medicine congresses are useful for GPs managing multimorbidity.

▶ How does DPC accreditation work for French congresses?

French doctors carry a three-yearly Développement Professionnel Continu obligation, managed by the Agence nationale du DPC. Most national society congresses offer sessions registered as DPC actions, but not every session qualifies, and international congresses often don't, so check the DPC status of specific sessions before relying on them for your obligation.

▶ What are the confirmed dates for the next editions?

CFP: 2–5 December 2026, Strasbourg. JESFC: 13–15 January 2027, Palais des Congrès de Paris. JFHOD: 11–14 March 2027, Palais des Congrès de Paris. SantExpo: 25–27 May 2027, Porte de Versailles. CMGF 2027 dates are due for confirmation on the congress site; the other society congresses follow their usual calendar slots (JDP and SFR in December, Urgences in June, SFAR in September, SFP in spring).