Entente Cordiale Day · Paris, April 7-8, 2026
Security, Diplomacy, Influence: The Shifting Fronts of the Europe-Russia Relationship
Day One · April 7, 2026
Amphithéâtre Foch, Paris · 2:00 PM
Lieutenant General Hervé de Courrèges
Director of IHEDN and Higher Military Education, École Militaire
Saint-Cyrien and former Commander of the Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan Military Academy. Appointed Director of the IHEDN by presidential decree in June 2024. Commander of the Legion of Honour.
Iain Martin
Director, London Defence Conference
Director of the London Defence Conference and Engelsberg Ideas. Former editor of The Scotsman, deputy editor of the Sunday Telegraph and The Wall Street Journal Europe.
General Sir Adrian Bradshaw KCB OBE DL
Former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, NATO (2014-2017)
Britain's most senior officer in NATO. Commanded at every level up to General, including UK Special Forces and UK Land Forces. Now Governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
Frédéric Petit
MP, 7th Constituency of the French Abroad (Germany, Central Europe, Balkans)
Member of the National Assembly since 2017, re-elected in 2022 and 2024. Active in the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly and international security affairs.
Benoît Pélopidas
Full Professor, Sciences Po CERI · Founder, Nuclear Knowledges
Founding director of the Nuclear Knowledges programme at Sciences Po Paris. Affiliate at CISAC Stanford and visiting fellow at Princeton's Program on Science and Global Security.
Justin Crump
Founder & CEO, Sibylline
Founded Sibylline in 2010. Former tank commander who served in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iraq and Kosovo. Expert in geopolitical intelligence and global security analysis.
Margaux Benn
Senior Reporter, Le Figaro Foreign Service
Award-winning war correspondent and Albert Londres Prize laureate (2022) for her coverage of the war in Ukraine. Educated at the University of St Andrews and Sciences Po Paris.
Régis Genté
Journalist, Specialist in the Former Soviet Space
Based in Tbilisi since 2002, covering the former Soviet Union for RFI, France 24 and Le Figaro. Author of "Poutine et le Caucase" (2014).
Céline Bayou
Head of Russia and Continental Europe, CAPS · French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Lecturer at INALCO and associate researcher at CREE. Co-editor-in-chief of Regard sur l'Est. Expert on the Baltic States and Eastern European affairs.
Anna Jäderström
Founder, Gothia Defence Forum
Founder of the Gothia Defence Forum, connecting defence, industry, policy, and academia. Over 15 years of experience in political leadership and international security.
Émilie Canova
Research Associate, Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge
Political geographer specialising in Arctic-EU relations. Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholar. PhD at the University of Cambridge on EU-Arctic relations.
Nicole Grajewski
Assistant Professor, CERI Sciences Po · Visiting Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Scholar of nuclear policy and international security specialising in Russia and Iran. Author of "Russia and Iran: Partners in Defiance from Syria to Ukraine" (2026). PhD from Oxford.
Charlotte Thomas
Political Scientist, IRIS Asia-Pacific Programme
Sciences Po Paris graduate affiliated with the Asia Programme at IRIS. Author of "Pogroms and Violence: Muslims in Contemporary India" (2018). Junior Visiting Fellow, IWM Vienna.
Day One · April 7, 2026
Grand Salon, Paris · 6:30 PM
Lieutenant General Yann Gravêthe
Director, Musée de l'Armée, Paris
Appointed Director of the Musée de l'Armée in July 2024. Former Deputy Commander of the 1st Division of the British Army in York. Commander of the Legion of Honour.
Professor Christine Neau-Leduc
President, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
Professor of private law since 2012. Elected President of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in January 2021, beginning her second term in April 2025. Specialist in labour law and CSR.
Alice Rufo
Minister Delegate to the Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs
Former Deputy Diplomatic Adviser at the Élysée Palace and Director-General for International Relations and Strategy at the Ministry of the Armed Forces. ENS and ENA graduate.
Day Two · April 8, 2026
Duroselle & Richelieu Auditoriums · 9:00 AM
Professor Irene Tracey CBE FRS FMedSci
Vice-Chancellor, University of Oxford
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford since 1 January 2023. Professor of Anaesthetic Neuroscience. Fellow of the Royal Society (2023), appointed CBE in 2022 for services to medical research.
Professor Deborah Prentice
Vice-Chancellor, University of Cambridge
347th Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge since 1 July 2023. Eminent social psychologist, former Provost of Princeton University. Expert in social norms and behaviour change.
Grand Jury · Co-Presidents
Co-chaired by two Nobel Peace Prize Laureates
Maître Mohamed Fadhel Mahfoudh
Co-President of the Jury · French Universities
Key member of the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015 for his role in Tunisia's democratic transition. Former President of the Tunisian Bar Association.
Oleksandra Matviichuk
Co-President of the Jury · British Universities
Head of the Center for Civil Liberties, Ukraine. Nobel Peace Prize 2022, Sakharov Prize 2022, Right Livelihood Award 2022. Named one of the 25 most influential women in the world by the Financial Times.
Dr Océane Zubeldia
Director, Armaments & Defence Economics Division, IRSEM
General Didier Oustric
Officer for International Relations, Directorate of Higher Military Education
Stéphanie Ledoux
Founder & CEO, Alcyconie
Joffrey Célestin-Urbain
President, Campus Cyber
Anna Jäderström
Strategic Advisor, Defence & Diplomacy · Founder, Gothia Defence Forum
Dr Durdana Ansari OBE
Honorary President, Royal Air Force Cadets · Honorary Captain, Royal Navy
Dr Eveline Beer
Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Women in Defense Tech
Yuliya Maltseva
Co-Founder, Women in Defense Tech · STARK
Dr André Adamson
Business Executive, Defence & International Collaboration, MBDA · Lecturer in Military Strategy, King's College London
Day Two · April 8, 2026
Chevreuse Valley, Yvelines · 6:30 PM
The Count of Breteuil - François de Breteuil
Host · Owner & French Honorary President, Entente Cordiale Day
Graduate of Sciences Po Paris and ESSEC. Global Partner at Rothschild & Co. Owner-manager of the Château de Breteuil since 2025, welcoming over 140,000 visitors in 2025.
The Marquess of Salisbury - Robert Gascoyne-Cecil
UK Honorary President, Entente Cordiale Day
7th Marquess of Salisbury, former Leader of the House of Lords under John Major. Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, appointed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2019.
Andrew Dalgleish LLB
Deputy Head of Mission, British Embassy in Paris
Appointed Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Paris in January 2025. Former Deputy High Commissioner in Pakistan. Previously HM Ambassador to Croatia (2016-2021).