Day 3 of Grand Ducal, Ministerial State Visit to France

Today, 21 March 2018, marked the last day of the state visit of Their Royal Highnesses the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg and their delegation to France.

As their trip drew to a close, the Grand Ducal couple and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy Étienne Schneider paid a visit to Toulouse, where they were accompanied by the French Secretary of State to the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne. Several organisations based in Toulouse are active in the fields of aerospace and research, contributing to the international reputation of the city, which has also been awarded the label "European City of Science" for 2018.

The official delegation first visited the National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) where they explored the French Centre for Instruments of the Mars Operation (FIMOC). The centre allows CNES employees to guide the ChemCam and SAM-GC instruments - two instruments for analysing rocks and soils - embarked on the Rover Curiosity during its mission to explore the Gale crater of the planet Mars, the objective being to determine if the red planet is habitable.

It was at the Toulouse town hall that Their Royal Highnesses and the ministers were then welcomed by the mayor of Toulouse and president of theToulouse metropolis, Jean-Luc Moudenc. After an interview, they visited the Hall of Illustrious whose paintings retrace the history of the city and met with Luxembourg nationals and local authorities.

After an official lunch hosted by the prefect of the Occitan region and prefect of Haute-Garonne, Pascal Mailhos, at the prefecture hotel, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess and their delegation visited the Quai des savoirs, a cultural space dedicated to the dissemination and sharing of scientific, technical and industrial culture, innovation and digital technology. There they visited the exhibition "#HumainDemain", which informs and spreads awareness of the issues and impacts of scientific and technological innovations on our daily lives and those of future generations.

The state visit ended in the late afternoon with the visit of the company Airbus. After visiting the Airbus 380 assembly line and a general presentation of the company's activities, Deputy Prime Minister Étienne Schneider and Airbus Vice President for Strategy and International Affairs, Patrick de Castelbajac, signed a framework agreement.