La Rentrée 2026

NetworkIrlande celebrated “La Rentrée” in collaboration with FDJ United on a warm and sunny Thursday 03^rd September evening. The sun shone on the rooftop terrace as we eked out one last evening of summer and forgot about our to-do lists and workload for a few hours.

We were honoured to be welcomed by Ms. Stephane Pallez, Chairwoman and CEO of FDJ United. Ms. Pallez spoke to the almost 70 attendees about the importance of Europe for FDJ United, linking it to the current Presidency of the Council of the European Union, a role held by Ireland until the end of the year. She shared some statistics such as that 30% of FDJ United’s revenues now come from international sources which is a major evolution over the past number of years. Ms. Pallez also alluded to the fact that Premier Lotteries Ireland was the first international acquisition by FDJ United and that the next Comex would be held in Dublin, demonstrating how FDJ United has indeed developed strong ties with Ireland. She thanked Ambassador Milton for her presence at the event.

Ambassador Milton addressed the group and warmly thanked FDJ United for hosting the evening, which is one of the key moments in the NetworkIrlande calendar each year. She also thanked Ms. Pallez and FDJ United for showing trust and confidence in the France/Ireland relationship by making the decision to invest in Ireland. Ambassador Milton evoked the three pillars of the Irish EU Presidency: Competitivity, Security and Values and the importance in particular of the competitivity and simplification agenda. She also encouraged those present to share their thoughts or feedback on these issues with the Embassy.

NetworkIrlande President Richard Dujardin, of Equans, once again thanked our generous hosts and Ambassador Milton. He spoke about upcoming NetworkIrlande events such as the Tête-à-Tête series and Speed networking with FICC before encouraging guests to attend the Ireland France Business Awards on November 26^th.

The evening then turned to networking with a wonderful spread laid out by FDJ United. The attendee groups was very diverse with a very good mix of Pioneer, Business and Professional Business members in attendance in addition to several NetworkIrlande Board members. Several people fed back that they made many new contacts on the evening as well as renewing existing ones. The sun set with the incredible view over the City of Lights.

We wish to thank FDJ United for hosting us in their beautiful HQ and in such a generous manner.