There are relationships that only grow stronger over time. The one between Le Havre and Mariupol is one of them.
On Tuesday, May 26, on the sidelines of the 4th International Summit of Cities and Regions in Kyiv, the Mayor of Le Havre, Édouard Philippe, met once again with his Mariupol counterpart, Vadym Boychenko. Two major port cities, two communities that have experienced total destruction and had to rebuild from scratch: Le Havre, razed by the bombings of 1944, and Mariupol, devastated by Russia’s aggression in 2022. More than anything else, this shared fate is what gives such depth to their bond.
This relationship did not begin with the friendship pact officially signed in February 2025. It had been built long before that, through exchanges, visits and long-term projects. The pact simply set in stone what already existed.
They discussed very important questions during a meeting at the International Summit of Cities and Regions, where the two partner mayors exchanged views alongside the Ambassador of France to Ukraine, Gaël Veyssière; Member of the European Parliament Nathalie Loiseau; Olga Pikula, Deputy Mayor of Mariupol in charge of relations with the Government and international communications; Caroline Leclercq, Deputy Mayor of Le Havre in charge of culture and international relations; and Edward Mayor, President of Stand With Ukraine.
It was in this spirit that “La Cantine de Marioupol” was born, a project led by Stand With Ukraine in partnership with Thierry Marx’s Cuisine Mode d’Emploi(s). Located on the ground floor of 15,000 m² of housing for 380 displaced families, it includes a culinary school, a training restaurant, a bakery, coworking spaces and a vegetable garden. Two groups of veterans and former prisoners of war from Mariupol have already been trained for careers in the restaurant industry, first in Toulouse and then in Le Havre. Today, 80% of them are employed or have opened their own establishment in Ukraine. It is a flagship example of concrete and useful cooperation between France and Ukraine.
Congratulations to Édouard Philippe, Vadym Boychenko, the City of Le Havre and the City of Mariupol for this tangible and lasting commitment.
