Idunn Kalvik Takvam

Around 32,000 students took part in Caen's student carnival last week, filling the city with colour, music and costumes. Among them were several international students, many of whom were experiencing Europe's largest student carnival for the very first time. Among those joining the celebrations were James, Ethan and Sebastian, who are all studying French at the University of Caen. Here's what they thought of the experience!

The first round of the 2026 French municipal elections has confirmed the strong position of the incumbent mayor in Caen. Aristide Olivier, the current mayor and an independent centre-right candidate, finished well ahead of his rivals with 48.51% of the vote, only a few percentage points away from the absolute majority required to secure the victory in the first round.

Aristide Olivier has been returned as mayor of Caen after a convincing victory in the second round of the municipal election. Olivier took 59.38% of the vote, comfortably ahead of his two left-wing rivals, according to official results published by the French Interior Ministry. His list will now hold 44 seats on the new municipal council.

A man was arrested on Sunday, 1st February, for having broken into a flat in Caen the day before. The perpetrator was tracked down after using a bank card stolen from the address.