The International Public Speaking Competition

LOIRE VALLEY REGIONAL PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION

The 2026 Regional Public Speaking Competition in English took place in the Salons de la Présidence at the Préfecture, Place Michel Debré, Angers, during the afternoon of 21 March 2026, when 10 candidates presented their speeches on the theme “The light of a candle is transferred to another candle – Spring twilight”, a haiku called “Lighting One Candle” by Yosa Buson.

The afternoon’s proceedings were introduced by Yann Semler-Collery, Prësident de la Commission Culture du Département de Maine et Loire, a firm supporter of the opportunity the competition opens up to young people. Ilona Marx the took the floor. Ilona represented France at the international finals in London 2025 and spoke with great enthusiasm to the candidates emphasising the success they had already achieved.

3 candidates were selected by the jury to represent the ESU Loire Valley in the national finals, 23 May, at the Assemblée Nationale in Paris, when a total of 12 candidates will compete from various regions: the Loire Valley, Aix-Marseille, Taverny in the Val d’Oise, Paris and Strasbourg. One will be selected to represent France in London at the ESU international public speaking competition between 13 and 18 July 2026.

Our thanks to Yann Semler-Collery, to the judges and teachers involved and to our partners, the Bibliothèque Anglophone in Angers, and the Maison de l’Europe Maine et Loire – Europe Direct, for their work prior to, and during the competition.

The ESU Loire Valley has been taking part in the ESU International Public Speaking Competition (IPSC) every year since 2012. This competition is the highlight of the ESU international calendar. It is the largest public speaking competition in the world and currently involves over half a million students in more than 50 countries.

It takes place in London in May each year and represents one of the clearest manifestations of the goals of the ESU: to encourage cultural exchange and help young people to become confident communicators.

Alongside visits to London tourist attractions and to the theatre, the organisers work hard to ensure that the candidates experience activities that will enhance their speaking skills and will enable cultural exchange and new friendships to develop between them.

A real winner

This photograph was taken 24 April 2022, in London, four years after the three young ladies first met when Laure Chabenat, from Fontevraud, represented France, Mariana Levashov-Tumanishvili represented Georgia, and Nicole Camila Kohan represented Argentina, at the International Public Speaking Competition 2018.

To quote Laure, on the left of the photo:

“Even 4 years later it’s like nothing has changed. You can see it in the picture, Argentina, Georgia and France are still getting along as well as ever.

I wish to thank you for the incredible opportunity that was the IPSC. All the training before being selected and then the week in London. It has all been a marvellous journey that truly changed me, and I will forever be grateful.”

To select a candidate to represent France at the IPSC, a Regional Public Speaking Competition (RPSC) is held in Angers every year in March, organized jointly by the ESU Loire Valley, the Bibliothèque Anglophone in Angers, and the Maison de l’Europe Angers et Maine et Loire. Three winning candidates progress to the National Finals in Paris where they compete with students representing ESU Aix-Marseille for the honour of representing France in the International Competition in London in May.

Region Finals

The regional finals took place 15 March 2025 in Angers in the Salons de la Présidence at the Préfecture, for the use of which we are thankful to Yann Semler-Collery, the councillor responsible for culture and heritage in the Maine-et-Loire. The jury of 3 were unanimous in their decision and selected 3 from the 9 candidates present to travel to Paris to represent this region in the national finals: 1 from the Lycée Joachim du Bellay, 1 from the Lycée St. Benoît, both in Angers, and 1 from the Lycée St. Louis in Saumur.

The theme for the regional and national finals 2025 was a line spoken by Ophelia in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”: “We know what we are but not what we may be”.

National Finals

In Paris, 5 April 2025, the national finals took place in a salon at the Assemblée Nationale. There were 3 candidates from the Loire Valley, 3 from Aix-Marseille and 2 from the Paris region. The judges were Jessica Clements, who is in charge of international programmes at Dartmouth House, Edward Archer, who runs an agency training businesspeople in public speaking, and Michael Naouri, last year’s international competition winner. They were unanimous in their decision, and it will be Ilona Marx, a student at the Lycée Saint Louis in Saumur who will represent France at the international competition in London 12 – 17 May 2025. The candidate in second place was also from our region: Lilou Rey-Grobellet, a student at the Lycée Joachim du Bellay, who came 1^st at the regional competition in Angers.

The theme for the heats in London 2025 is a quotation from Mahatma Gandhi : “Unity to be real must stand the severest strain without breaking”.

National Public Speaking Competition

The National Public Speaking Competition 2025 took place in the Salons at the Assemblée Nationale, Paris, during the afternoon of Saturday 5 April 2025.

Three candidates representing the Loire Valley region travelled to Paris to compete against three candidates from Marseille and two from Taverny in the Val d’Oise. All eight candidates performed exceptionally well, but only one could be selected to represent France at the international competition in London in May. The judges were unanimous. The winner was Ilona Marx, from the Lycée Saint Louis in Saumur.

Ilona has since spoken to the ESU Loire Valley members of her experience attending the international finals in London last May when around 40 young people spent a week together, honing their public speaking skills, sightseeing and socialising as well as competing for the international title. Ilona remains in touch with her many new friends and describes the weeklong stay as ‘lifechanging’.

We would love to hear from teachers interested in assisting their students aged between 16 – 20 years to prepare for this competition, and also from individuals who may be able to contribute to developing the skills and confidence that will be vital to our young in their future careers.

We would be delighted to welcome you on board this truly rewarding project.

If you would like extra details, please contact president@esu-loire-valley.fr