RVD Releases Programme for Dutch State Visit to France

The Dutch Government Information Service (RVD) released the programme of the Dutch state visit to France, which will be on March 10-11 2016. The visit will build on the ‘positive impuls’ that the official visit of President Hollande to The Hague gave to the bilateral relation between the countries.

The visit will be focussed on economic, cultural and European cooperation and shared history and values will be highlighted. Apart from a state visit, Minister Liliane Ploumen will also lead an Economic Mission to France.

Thursday 10 March

The king and queen will arrive in Paris on Wednesday evening. The visit will start on Thursday morning with an official welcome ceremony at the Arc the Triomphe, where the  king and queen will lay a wreath on the grave of the unknown soldier. Immidiately afterwards they will be received by the president at Elysée Palace.

The president will accompany the royal couple to the Louvre museum where they will look at two paintings of Rembrandt van Rijn that have been acquired by the Louvre Museum and the Rijksmuseum of Amsterdam.

The paintings of Maerten Soolman and Oopjen Coppit

The couple will receive the Dutch community in hôtel Potocki. After this there will be two meetings with the chairmen of the senate and of the Assamblée. The day continues with a visit to the project Halle Pajol. The couple willmeet younsters who participated in a project of the Anne Frank foundation. There will be a discussion about the value of tolerance, freedom and equality. In the evening there will be a state banquet at the Elysée Palace.

Friday 11 March

The mayor of Paris will receive the king and queen in the morning. Durting this visit there will eb a few speeches and attention will be given to the recent terrorist attacks in Paris. Afterwards the couple will get a tour through Paris with an electric bus. The city of Paris bought several of them from a Dutch company. In the bus there will be an explanation about sustainable transport.

The day continues with a visit to Les Docks, where the couple will attend a part of the economic mission. Following will be an ‘innovation parade’ where Dutch and French companies will show how they work together. The couple will also attend the signing of various French-Dutch business contracts.

In the afternoon the couple will visit incubator NUMA. This project helps start-up companies in France. The couple will be accompanied by the French minister of Economic Affairs. Afterwards the day continues with a visit to the Atelier Néerlandais where the party will join the end of a masterclass on fashion, which is attended by talented fashion students from The Netherlands and France.

At the end of the afternoon there will be a symposium about peace and security in the European Union, which will be attended by the French and Dutch ministers of Foreign Affairs. In the evening the king and queen will host a concert and reception at the Petit Palais.

Queen Máxima, President Hollande, King Willem-Alexander and Princess Beatrix at Noordeinde Palace on 20 January 2014.

Filed under The Netherlands
Tagged Bilateral Relations, France, King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, President Hollande of France, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, State Visit.