Mr de Buman will be received on 12 July by Mr de Rugy (La République en Marche/Loire-Atlantique), in the presence of MEP Marion Lenne (La République en Marche/Haute-Savoie), president of the of the French-Swiss friendship group of the French National Assembly and Joachim Son-Forget, MEP representing French citizens living in Switzerland and in Liechtenstein. He will then have the opportunity to speak with Mr Larcher (Les Républicains /Yvelines), who will be accompanied by Ronan Le Gleut (Les Républicains), senator representing French citizens living outside of France. Several topics will be on the agenda of these meetings, including bilateral relations, Switzerland’s relations with the EU and the Brexit issue, given the close relations between the two countries and the United Kingdom.
At the end of the day, Mr de Buman will meet with Michaëlle Jean, Secretary-General of the OIF, and will then visit the Residence of Switzerland in Paris, where, as the country’s first citizen, he will give a speech at the traditional Swiss national celebration organised by the Swiss Embassy. This event traditionally takes place before the French national holiday.
The day of 13 July will begin with a visit to the TV5Monde television channel headquarters. Switzerland contributes around EUR 8 million to the channel’s budget. Half of this amount is paid for by the Confederation and the other half by the SRG SSR.
The programme will continue with a meeting with Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO. Finally, Mr de Buman will visit the Swiss Cultural Centre.
At the invitation of the French authorities, Mr de Buman will attend the parade on 14 July.