opening conference
02 NOV. 2026
Maison de la Chimie, PARIS
EURONAVAL 2026 marks the return of its Opening Conference, a high-level strategic forum taking place on the eve of the exhibition opening.
Against a backdrop of renewed high-intensity conflict, growing hybrid threats and rapid technological innovation, this conference will bring together senior naval leaders, defence decision-makers, industry executives and international experts to explore the major transformations shaping today’s maritime security environment and setting the tone for EURONAVAL 2026.
The Return of the Naval Dimension of Conflict
From contested chokepoints and grey-zone coercion to the resurgence of high-end naval warfighting, this conference explores why maritime power is proving once again to be a decisive factor in shaping security, deterrence, and the balance of forces. It brings together practitioners and researchers to examine how navies are adapting – doctrinally, technologically, and industrially – to this return of the sea as a battlespace.
- Objective
To provide a high-level strategic perspective on the renewed role of naval power in modern conflicts through geopolitical, technological and operational developments.
- Target audience
Decision-makers from navies and coast guards, defence ministries, international organisations, defence industry manufacturers, maritime security experts, think tanks, researchers and specialist media.
- Date & Venue
Date: 2 November 2026 – 8:30AM to 2:00PM
Location: Maison de la Chimie – 28 rue Saint-Dominique 75007 Paris
- Registration Fee
€120 (including tax)
The registration fee includes:
- Welcome coffee
- Networking coffee breaks
- Networking lunch cocktail
Programme
- 8:30 - 9:00
Welcome coffee
- 9:00 - 9:20
Welcome speech
Thomas Gomart
Director of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI)
Pierre Eric POMMELLET
President of EURONAVAL and GICAN
- 9:20 - 9:35
Opening Keynote
Patrick Pailloux
General Delegate for French Defence Procurement (DGA)
- 9:35 - 10:55
Roundtable - Seeing through the Fog of Sea
As maritime actors multiply – shadow fleets, maritime militias, dual-use fishing vessels – the deliberate blurring of civil-military lines is undermining identification and complicating decision-making at sea. This panel examines how those concealment strategies directly challenge our ability to read the maritime picture, and how new technological advances (multi-sensor data fusion, autonomous sensors, AI) could be mobilized to secure a reliable maritime domain awareness (MDA).
Moderator
Elie Tenenbaum
Director of Ifri’s Security Studies Center
Speakers
Vice Admiral Hugues Lainé
Deputy Chief of Naval Staff - Operations (ALOPS)
Katja Jacobsen
Director - Department of Political Sciences Centre for Military Studies - University of Copenhagen
Vice Admiral (Ret.) Marc Aussedat
Incoming Naval Defence Advisor, THALES
- 10:55 - 11:15
Coffee Break
- 11:15 - 12:40
Roundtable - Operating and Supporting Distributed and Hybrid Fleets
As naval forces grow more heterogeneous, commanders must integrate an ever-wider mix of platforms, sensors, and support assets into a single coherent fighting force. This panel examines what it takes to command and sustain such composite fleets – from C2 architectures to distributed maritime operations (DMOs) – and the logistics ecosystems that keep them running. It will look at how growing drone and robotic integration is reshaping fleet design, and why the operational demands of blue-water dronisation differ sharply from those in littoral, inshore waters.
Moderator
Vincent Tourret
Research Fellow, Security Studies Center, Head of the Observatory on Future Conflicts, Ifri
Speakers
Brent Sadler
(Captain (ret.) US Navy) - Heritage Foundation -
Jonas Ottosson
Deputy Head of Business Area Naval at SAAB AB
Johannes R. Fischbach
Maritime Researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Head of the Maritime Data and Platform Development Team.
- 12:40 - 12:55
Closing Speech
Admiral Christophe Cluzel
Chief of Staff of the French Navy
- 13:00
Networking lunch
The programme is currently being developed in partnership with
The morning will feature keynote speeches by Admiral Christophe Cluzel, Chief of Staff French Navy and Patrick Pailloux, General Delegate for Defence Procurement (DGA).
The conference will also open with a speech by Pierre Éric Pommellet, President of GICAN and CEO of NAVAL GROUP.
The opening conference will set the strategic framework for EURONAVAL 2026 by examining the profound transformations in naval warfare and the industrial and technological responses that will be showcased throughout the exhibition.