On the Agenda: What’s happening in France this week
Ramadan, the Muslim period of fasting, prayer and reflection gets under way this week, while MPs and senators will debate the current situation in Ukraine, dock workers begin a series of strikes and France take on England at rugby.
Monday
Ramadan – The Muslim period of fasting, prayer, reflection and community begins on March 11th and runs until April 9th when the celebrations of Eid begin.
Homage – Prime Minister Gabriel Attal will be in Arras – the city where teacher Dominique Bernard was killed last October – for an annual homage to victims of terror attacks.
Back to school – the final tranche of children head back to school after the winter holidays on Monday.
Tuesday
Ukraine – MPs will debate the situation in Ukraine and the government’s bilateral security agreement with Ukraine, which commits “up to €3 billion” in additional military aid to Kyiv in 2024. A senate debate will take place the following day. The debates come in the context of Emmanuel Macron declaring that "nothing is off the table" when it comes to supporting Ukraine, including deploying Nato ground troops. Macron has had a series of meetings, including with party leaders and former French presidents, to try and shore up support for Ukraine within France.
Strike – Dock workers are set to take part in a rolling series of one-day strikes from Tuesday, in a dispute over pay and conditions. This is likely to affect commercial traffic, rather than passenger services.
Wednesday
Summer train travel – Train tickets for the rail travel between July 6th and September 11th go on sale from Wednesday.
Saturday
Marches – Demonstrations against police violence and racism will take place in Paris and in towns and cities across France.
Six Nations – it’s the final round of the senior men’s Six Nations tournament, and all three matches are on the same day, which is unimaginatively called Super Saturday. The wall-to-wall rugby kicks off with Wales v Italy at 3:15pm; followed by Ireland v Scotland at 5:45pm; and finishes with France v England, in Lyon, at 9pm.
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Monday
Ramadan – The Muslim period of fasting, prayer, reflection and community begins on March 11th and runs until April 9th when the celebrations of Eid begin.
Homage – Prime Minister Gabriel Attal will be in Arras – the city where teacher Dominique Bernard was killed last October – for an annual homage to victims of terror attacks.
Back to school – the final tranche of children head back to school after the winter holidays on Monday.
Tuesday
Ukraine – MPs will debate the situation in Ukraine and the government’s bilateral security agreement with Ukraine, which commits “up to €3 billion” in additional military aid to Kyiv in 2024. A senate debate will take place the following day. The debates come in the context of Emmanuel Macron declaring that "nothing is off the table" when it comes to supporting Ukraine, including deploying Nato ground troops. Macron has had a series of meetings, including with party leaders and former French presidents, to try and shore up support for Ukraine within France.
Strike – Dock workers are set to take part in a rolling series of one-day strikes from Tuesday, in a dispute over pay and conditions. This is likely to affect commercial traffic, rather than passenger services.
Wednesday
Summer train travel – Train tickets for the rail travel between July 6th and September 11th go on sale from Wednesday.
Saturday
Marches – Demonstrations against police violence and racism will take place in Paris and in towns and cities across France.
Six Nations – it’s the final round of the senior men’s Six Nations tournament, and all three matches are on the same day, which is unimaginatively called Super Saturday. The wall-to-wall rugby kicks off with Wales v Italy at 3:15pm; followed by Ireland v Scotland at 5:45pm; and finishes with France v England, in Lyon, at 9pm.
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