Thank you to everyone who joined us for AFBA’s annual Rentrée Dinner at the Salons de l’Aéro-Club on Monday, 25th September. It was a pleasure to welcome longtime AFBA members as well as some new faces, many of whom had travelled to be with us.

Among many highlights, we were privileged to hear from guest speaker Julien Collette, the Directeur-Générale of the Rugby World Cup France 2023.  Julien took the stage to share his insights on the successes and challenges of the tournament so far, touching on security, transport, the value of community engagement and some of the key statistics.  He also commented on the connections between the Rugby World Cup 2023 and the Paris Olympics 2024, as well as future collaboration with Australia who will be hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2027.

We are grateful to Commonwealth Bank of Australia, our Annual Sponsors and Event Partners for the night, for their ongoing support and to CEO Wilco Hendriks for addressing us at the dinner. Final thanks go to Megan Anderson (Deputy Head of Mission and Australian Ambassador to UNESCO) for joining us and making welcome remarks on behalf of H.E. Gillian Bird PSM, Australian Ambassador to France.