Jancarthier’s Departure, François Piot’s Resignation: What’s Happening at Manor?


"Je n’avais pas la dispo pour être présent aux réunions" a commenté François Piot,  pour expliquer sa démission du conseil d'administration de Manor - Depositphotos.com

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After 20 years of a rich relationship, Jancarthier has decided to leave Manor.

The information was revealed by our colleagues at La Quotidienne. The decision does not date from this rentrée, but from June.

The group, which comprises 150 employees, 51 points of sale and 130 million euros in turnover, will partially join Selectour as of January 1, 2027.

A major blow for the seahorse-branded label and a new development harder for the GIE Manor to absorb. Philippe Taieb’s presence at the last Selectour congress, in Cap, South Africa, has nothing to do with it.

The leader was then invited there as a friend of the Abitbol family, by Maggy, the mother of Laurent Abitbol, chairman of the board.

The decision is not due to this trip, far from it indeed. I was happy at Manor, I was an influential and respected boss, I was present on the board, the group was receiving handsome commissions.

Objectively, at that time, I had no reason to leave.
And then, I had a project to create a tool for monitoring suppliers. Moreover, this tool was delivered to Manor, so everything was fine
“, we share Philippe Taieb, president of Groupe Jancarthier.


Pourquoi Jancarthier quitte-t-il Manor ?

So why leave Manor? This question is on the lips of all GIE members.

The head of the group, specialized in tailor-made travel and business travel, confirms that he was not approached by Laurent Abitbol or Selectour.

In the article by our colleagues, it is indicated that this departure would be explained by ethical alignment reasons. What should be understood?

There were decisions that were taken which, in my view, and that’s my personal opinion, are not up to the image and the reputation of Manor.

I was no longer in sync with the management,
with the presidency. I decided, at a given moment, to go elsewhere
“, the leader tells us, not wishing to expand further.

For reminder, the voluntary network has taken on a new dimension for four years now, with the accession to the presidency of Grégory Mavoian.

A president unanimously re-elected in June 2025 after a first term and who has shown a fairly fair-play attitude when commenting on the departure of his former administrator to Selectour.

The network wishes him good luck and all the best in his projects“, he told us.

Succeeding Manor’s historic president, Jean Korcia, who is also CEO of Globeo Travel, the man who wished to revitalise and affirm the GIE’s standing in the French tourism landscape.

Following the rapprochement with Papmut, the GIE of Ready-to-Depart, in September 2025, the ambition stated on TourMaG.com was to “become the leading distribution network in France” by 2030.


Une présidence plus directive et des ego froissés ?

An ambitious objective which can also be understood in light of the network’s recent development.

In three years, the GIE’s turnover rose by 67%.

An increase partly explained by the rapprochement with Prêt-à-Partir, enabling Manor to reach 500 million euros in turnover in the leisure segment. A figure far from insignificant in France, placing the network between Leclerc Voyages and Carrefour Voyages.

To this is added the business travel activity, to reach a total turnover of 2.5 billion euros. Remember that Selectour retains a lead of an additional one billion, with 3.5 billion euros of turnover.

To read: Distribution: the war of networks is relaunched

At the same time, Manor wished to develop its services to improve support for its members.

However, this decision also clashes with the promise to return “100% of incentives to its members“, i.e., not to levy head-office fees to pay staff or the development of tools, as is the case with Selectour.

Nevertheless, members contribute to Manor’s financial needs according to their turnover.

Alongside this, there is also a presidency that is somewhat more directive than in the past, as we understood after several exchanges.


François Piot : “I did not have the availability to be present at the meetings”

A way of doing things that may have unsettled some of the elders, used to the more political and collegial approach of Jean Korcia, co-founder and former president of Manor.

However, this change of method is not necessarily a bad thing, especially for developing a company, but it can hurt egos, especially after 20 years of habits.

Moreover, last May, Jancarthier was named to the board following the departure of Voyages Paris Normandie from this body, her seat taking effect.

And he is not the only one to have left the board.

We learned that, at the same time, François Piot had also resigned from the Board of Directors.

I can confirm, I made this decision before the summer, simply because I did not have the necessary availability to be present at the frequent meetings that take place in Paris, living in the east of France.

I think I am more useful at Manor Loisirs than on the board.

There is no quarrel, I love Manor and I feel very good there. I continue to handle contract negotiations with tour operators. Manor is doing well, welcoming new members and constantly receiving requests.

Moreover, Manor Loisirs’ volumes, despite the context, are rising with all tour operators. This demonstrates our good momentum.

After all, Jancarthier will receive the entirety of his supercommissions, which is not always the case elsewhere“, we told François Piot.


Manor fêtera ses 40 ans à Venise !

The network will celebrate its 40th anniversary at the end of October 2026 in the prestigious setting of the Doge’s City.

And even if it would have preferred to avoid this episode, the congress already promises to be exceptional and is already fully booked, according to Grégory Mavoian.

It will be by far the biggest event ever organized by the network.

We have gone all out, with exceptional speakers and many surprises. We are fully booked, or even oversubscribed, as we have dozens of people on the waiting list. Everything is going well for Manor
“, concludes, with confidence, its current president.


François Lévêque (Centrale Voyages): Seizing Opportunities in Times of Crisis




TourMaG – How is Centrale Voyages’ activity faring in the current context?

François Lévêque : At Centrale Voyages, we work on two main fronts. The business travel side is not doing badly overall. After a challenging 2025 marked by government uncertainties in France, activity has fairly rebounded.

On the leisure side, as everyone knows, we’re navigating a tougher period, thanks in particular to our friend Donald (Trump, ed. note). 

We mustn’t forget the Ukraine-Russia conflict that affected us for several months. In addition, the Middle East conflict has been ongoing since February 28.

This isn’t limited to trips to the Middle East, but also to Asian destinations, since three-quarters of flights are operated by Middle Eastern carriers that pass through Dubai, Abu Dhabi or the Qatar hubs. This situation leaves customers in a state of uncertainty.


Centrale Voyages acquires Meltour in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés

TourMaG – How significant is the business travel segment today at Centrale Voyages?

François Lévêque : The essence of Centrale Voyages is truly business travel. When I took over this company two years ago, it represented 80% of our revenue.

My goal is to rebalance the revenue mix between leisure, MICE – which I will address later – and business travel. Today, business travel remains the predominant activity.

TourMaG – On the leisure side, you’re making acquisitions; where do things stand?

François Lévêque : As TourMaG announced a few weeks ago, I just acquired two agencies in the Île-de-France region, one in Montigny-le-Bretonneux and one in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés: Meltour.

The objective is to acquire turnover and client portfolios, but also to gain complementary know-how beyond what we already possess. We have launched a comprehensive digital communications push for the last six weeks. We signed for one year, hoping to attract new clients and generate leads to develop leisure at Centrale Voyages.

We rolled out these efforts at a time when we’re confronted with the crisis in the Middle East. That timing isn’t ideal.

But in tourism, one must anticipate events like these. There are regular recoveries after crises, so I remain confident for the future.


“In times of crisis, you must not sit idly by”

TourMaG – Remind us of the scope of your network. Is your goal to reach 15 to 20 agencies in total?

François Lévêque : Today we have 11 agencies: one in Marseille, one in Aix-en-Provence, and the rest in the Paris region. We aim for 20 agencies within two years.

The aim is really to adopt the mindset that during a crisis you must not sit on your hands. Otherwise, as one former mentor of mine used to say, everything seems fine while the boat is slowly sinking…

I believe it’s always worth considering opportunities that open up during downturns. Today there are indeed some on-the-ground agencies that are no longer very profitable, run by leaders who have not fully embraced digital evolution, and it is quite possible to inject some energy into these agencies and make them profitable again. That’s the bet I’m placing during this period of crisis.


TourMaG – How do you choose deals? Is it about location? The storefront? Price? How does it work?

François Lévêque : To be quite honest, it’s all about opportunity. The first opportunity is Montigny-le-Bretonneux. The agency is part of Manor, and the owner suggested, then offered me the chance to take over his agency.

The second agency, however, came to me through my accounting firm, which has overseen this company for 30 years and presented the opportunity. When you acquire an agency, your biggest worry is uncovering anything that has been hidden or glossed over to make the bride look better. The advantage of sharing the same accounting firm is that you know the business is clean and overseen by people you’ve known for a long time.

That makes the acquisition process much more reassuring and limits the unpleasant surprises that can surface a few months later.


Agencies with prime locations still have a real future

TourMaG – There are plenty of opportunities; are there many retirements?

François Lévêque : There are many retirements. The Meltour agency in Saint-Maur is one example, but it’s the case for most deals I review. They’re often led by managers approaching retirement age. Since Covid, the industry has changed and evolved, and many are stepping down. There are currently a lot of deals on the market.

TourMaG – Do you believe in physical travel agencies in the age of artificial intelligence?

François Lévêque : I don’t have a crystal ball. I closed one agency in December because there was no longer a flow and there was no logic in keeping it. Today, I’m reconsidering several others.

However, I do think that agencies with a good location have a real future. There will always be business conducted in person, especially for clients seeking tailor-made journeys who need to trust the agent who guides and builds their trip.



“On business travel, margins are razor-thin”


“Clients are increasingly demanding”

TourMaG – There was a HR challenge after Covid. Do you still face recruitment issues and are you hiring?

François Lévêque : We are recruiting because some employees are retiring, while others choose to leave the agency or even the industry. Both situations are present today.

And no, recruiting isn’t easy. You hear that some agencies are closing, but that doesn’t make it any easier to hire travel consultants. I’m mainly referring to leisure tourism. We have more ease recruiting for the business travel side, which is a more technical field and less sales-oriented.

Conversely, in leisure, it’s a real commercial profession. The advisor builds and sells a file, but until the client signs, they can easily move to someone else. This dimension makes the role more demanding.

Clients are also increasingly demanding and agents sometimes suffer from a lack of recognition. They are solicited at all hours, including evenings and weekends, because that has become almost normal today. Like everyone, they would like to disconnect and enjoy their free time.

It’s often because they are highly professional and deeply committed that they end up burning out from this constant availability. Today, recruiting good travel consultants who are still happy in their job and want to thrive in leisure travel isn’t straightforward.


“My objective is to reach 20 agencies, 50 million euros in turnover”

TourMaG – Centrale Voyages, in three years, how big will it be? What will the group’s structure look like?

François Lévêque : My objective is to reach 20 agencies and 50 million euros in turnover, with one third from business travel, one third from leisure, and one third from MICE. To me, that would be the ideal balance.

This equilibrium helps distribute risk more evenly. There is always one activity that endures tougher periods than the others. The idea is that the other two segments can support the business and help it weather the crises of the third line.

Why 50 million euros? I don’t really know where that figure comes from, but since I arrived two years ago, I’ve been told that once you reach this threshold, suppliers start looking at you differently and you can secure better negotiating terms, especially regarding margins.

This objective may evolve over time, but it’s the target I’ve set and we will strive to achieve it within the next three years.