BELC partner municipality Reims takes part in public forum on European elections

On 23 February, 2024, a public forum on forthcoming European elections took place in Reims’ city hall, entitled ‘The 2024 European Elections: Context and Challenges’. Organised by the city of Reims and the ‘Grand Est’ Europe Direct centre, the high-level event, which included participants from European institutions in France, provided an opportunity to discuss the role of the EU and the issues at stake in the forthcoming European elections on 9 June. Attendees included the mayor of Reims, Arnaud Robinet; two of his deputies, including BELC member Dimitri Oudin; Valérie Drezet-Humez, Head of the European Commission Representation in France, and Isabelle Coustet, Head of the European Parliament Office in France.

The forum also offered an opportunity for Mayor Robinet to compliment the young people of Reims who are committed to Europe, and to stress the importance of taking part in the forthcoming elections.

Other crucial issues linked to the European Union were also discussed, such as health, environmental policies, misinformation, and the role of the EU in Reims.

Earlier that day, European Commission representative Ms Drezet-Humez visited Henri-Paris Park. Used in the past as an encampment by nomadic communities, then by refugees until 2019, in recent months this 1.2-hectare green space has been completely redeveloped at a cost of nearly €1.5 million, a third of which was European funding.