On July 11th the day of France was celebrated in Mariupol for the first time. The program of the large-scale festival, dedicated to the Bastille Day, included a number of cultural and entertainment events, namely: film shows, concerts, art exhibitions, races on tricycles and scooters, street musicians performances, etc. Mariupol City Council was the organizer.

Isabelle Dumont, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the French Republic in Ukraine, was the honorary guest of the festival. She attended the concert of the Chamber Orchestra “Renaissance”, performing with its cast, also she paid visit to a French township located in the City Garden.

As a part of the Day of France in Mariupol, Kostyantyn Balabanov, the Rector of Mariupol State University, professor, the Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Cyprus in Mariupol, met Isabelle Dumont, the Embassy's staff and the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine, Hennadii Chyzhykov, the Honorary Consul of the French Republic in Donetsk (Kyiv), a member of MSU Supervisory Board. The cooperation development prospects were given consideration to, signing of agreements with French universities, internships of students and university professors in France in particular.

MSU has been training specialists majoring in "Language and Literature (French)" since 2014 and has already graduated first bachelors. In general, today over 50 students of MSU either major in French or take it as a foreign language. The Department of German and French Philology, which arduously cooperates with the French Embassy in Ukraine, provides schooling of the French language in the university.

It is worth mentioning that the Ambassador of France has already visited Mariupol State University in Ukraine twice. In 2015, she participated in the opening of the EU Information Center when she arrived as a member of the European countries ambassadors delegation, and last year, during her visit to Mariupol, she met up with Mariupol State University administration.