On November 7, 2025, the Ukrainian city of Slavutych and the French city of Franconville officially became partner cities. The municipalities signed a cooperation memorandum online, confirming their readiness to strengthen ties that have already been successfully developing in practice for several months.

The partnership became possible thanks to the NGO Stand with Ukraine and its president, Edward Mayor, an honorary Cities4Cities` Ambassador of Cities’ Friendship. It was through their initiative that the communities first connected and began cooperating, and now the partnership has become part of the Cities4Cities network within the Polaris Programme “Supporting Multilevel Governance in Ukraine”

The communities first met in spring 2024, and by autumn that same year their delegations had already met in person. In summer 2025, children from Slavutych spent ten days in Franconville, getting acquainted with local schools, youth centres and everyday life in the French city. This visit became the first step toward an official partnership, which has now been formalised by the memorandum.

Franconville’s Mayor Xavier Melki highlighted during the signing ceremony:

“For Franconville, such ties are a way to explain the risks and consequences of the war. When I suggested a partnership with Slavutych, the city council unanimously supported the idea. There is a French saying: small streams make a big river. And today’s partnership is exactly that small stream which, together with others, becomes a flow of peace.”

Slavutych Mayor Yuriy Fomichev emphasised that this partnership carries special significance for Ukrainians:

“We thank our French partners for their support and trust. We want to bring Ukraine closer to the European standards — through joint initiatives, exchanges, and real communication. These are the kind of relations we expect from this partnership: open, equal and sincere. We hope to be an interesting partner for Franconville — not only learning, but sharing and collaborating.”

The signed memorandum defines the main areas of cooperation between the cities:

• exchanges in culture, education and sports;
• organisation of joint cultural and youth events;
• creating opportunities for learning and mutual exchange between educational institutions.

The parties also plan to deepen cooperation in citizen engagement, support for local self-government and strengthening democratic practices. All these efforts aim to build friendship between residents, foster mutual understanding and establish a lasting dialogue between communities in France and Ukraine.

The Cities4Cities initiative implements the “International Municipal Cooperation” sphere of the Polaris Programme “Supporting Multilevel Governance in Ukraine,” funded by Sida and implemented by SALAR International.