Frederique Laval elected to lead French leather goods federation

Frédérique Laval has been elected president of the Fédération Française de la Maroquinerie, the body that says it has spoken for French leather goods since 1937. The change lands at a moment when the sector is still trying to protect hand skills, widen the apprenticeship pipeline and keep Made in France leather goods visible against fierce international competition.

The federation chose Laval after its general assembly on June 17, with the announcement published June 24. She succeeds Arnaud Haefelin, whose two presidencies ran from 2015 to 2019 and from 2021 to 2026, a period the federation credits with expanding its reach and policy influence. The organization says it represents artisans, TPE, PME, ETI, subcontractors and major luxury houses, giving the new president a wide brief across the chain from workshop floor to boardroom.

Laval is co-director of Groupe Fleurus, where she has worked alongside Pierre Laval for more than 15 years. The family-owned manufacturer began in Saint-Flour in 1942 and now says it employs more than 1,400 people across Vichy, Saint-Flour and Madagascar. One of its brands, Maison Fèvre, has been making leather, fabrics and vegan materials for more than 80 years, a background that fits the federation’s emphasis on workmanship and industrial continuity.

Before joining the family business, Laval worked in consulting and auditing, and she also serves as president of the Auvergne committee of the French Foreign Trade Advisors. That mix of factory leadership and trade experience matters for a federation that must defend craft standards while helping companies navigate exports, counterfeiting, training and recruitment.

Under Haefelin, the federation backed the Leather Goods Observatory #2030, stronger policy engagement, anti-counterfeiting work, apprenticeship policy, leather goods manufacturing in WorldSkills, the National Diploma for Arts and Crafts in Leather Goods and a partnership with the French Fashion Institute. Laval said the federation must remain a “strong, audible and unifying voice” for the sector, and her election points to continuity more than rupture. For French leather goods, the question now is whether that voice can keep the bench skills, training routes and production base strong enough to match the market it serves.