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The 39-metre Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) of ESO is entering its construction's final phase, marked by the imminent completion of the dome. The first 'technical' light is expected in March 2029, and the arrival of the first instruments on site is scheduled around 2030. The instrumental suite that will equip the world's largest optical telescope will include imagers and spectrographs, covering the spectrum from visible to mid-infrared, enabling unique observations and studies of the Universe. As a partner or (co-)PI of all 4 first-light instruments (MICADO, METIS, MORFEO, and HARMONI) and of the 2 first-generation instruments (MOSAIC and ANDES), France is poised to play a key role in the scientific exploitation of this instrumental suite.

This ELT-France 2027 meeting aims to bring together the entire French community that stands to benefit from the capabilities of the ELT and its instruments, and to strengthen the structuring of the French community around the major scientific themes that will be advanced by this facility.

This meeting is broadly open to anyone in the community who may be interested in exploiting this instrumental suite. Individuals who are not members of any consortium are particularly welcome, as are postdoctoral researchers and PhD students who will be the future users of this telescope. Presentations and discussions will be held in English.

The programme will be organised around the astrophysical themes of interest to our community, corresponding to the various 'Actions Thématiques' (AT) of the PN ASTRO. For each session, one to three invited talk(s) will review the expected contributions of the ELT to the themes of the relevant AT, followed by contributed presentations for which an open call will be issued, with the aim of fostering and sharing new ideas.

List of invited speakers (under construction)

Clément Baruteau
Nicolas Bouché (TBC)
AndréaChiavassa
Maica Clavel
Thierry Fouchet
Olivier Groussin
Thibaut Paumard
Roser Pello
Maxime Trebitsch
Martin Turbet
Susanna Vergani
Marta Volonteri

Preliminary schedule:

Abstract Submission deadline: June 29, 2026 – 17:00 (CEST)
Pre-registration deadline: June 29, 2026 – 17:00 (CEST)
Programme announcement: late July 2026