On 7 September 2026, closing day of the Foire de Châlons, the European Hemp Hub (Pôle européen du chanvre) and Châlons Agglo brought together around thirty local stakeholders in Châlons-en-Champagne for a collective flagship event dedicated to deploying a local hemp ecosystem. Farmers, construction professionals, teachers from the agricultural high school, elected officials, local and state government staff, and local associations all shared the same ambition: turning hemp into a driver of territorial transition. Agriculteurs, professionnels du bâtiment, enseignants du lycée agricole, élus, agents des collectivités et de l’État, ainsi que des associations locales, ont partagé une même ambition : faire du chanvre un levier de transition territoriale.
A local resource to unlock
The Châlons area already grows 840 hectares of hemp, around a hundred kilometres from La Chanvrière, the processing cooperative. This proximity is a strategic asset that the morning session helped highlight, with the aim of giving local stakeholders the tools to grow this momentum and take ownership of it over the long term.
Inspiring testimonials
The morning opened with a series of pitches: ODS Façade, a construction company committed to hemp concrete, shared its experience and enthusiasm. The agricultural high school presented its ongoing experiments, including a hemp bread developed with La Chanvrière for the Foire de Châlons, as well as a BTS student project for the Ensaia Nancy competition. Farmer Thibaut Janson spoke about the benefits of growing hemp within his crop rotations: reduced input use, pride in production, and income stability.
Workshops and roundtable: building a shared strategy
Four thematic workshops explored ways to move forward: removing barriers to public procurement for bio-based construction, envisioning exemplary building projects, strengthening training for tradespeople and architects, boosting support for farmers through agronomic guidance, and unlocking value from hemp seed — notably through a food project led by the agricultural high school and its integration into the agglomeration’s collective catering.
Concluding and looking forward
The morning concluded with a roundtable featuring Ludovic Boise (regional strategy on public procurement and the bioeconomy), Benoit Savourat (building a territory around hemp), and Thomas Dubanchet, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development at Châlons Agglo, who also opened the event.
Next step: an action plan for Châlons Agglo
This initiative led by the European Hemp Hub is now set to result in a concrete action plan, structuring a strategy to develop hemp uses — and potentially processing and production — across the Châlons Agglo territory.
