"The French parliamentary delegation will meet with head of the Republic of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov, chairman of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea Vladimir Konstantinov, Plenipotentiary Representative of the Russian President in the Crimean Federal District Oleg Belaventsev, the republic’s Prosecutor General Natalia Poklonskaya and members of the presidium of the Crimean parliament," the press service said in a statement.
In addition, the French lawmakers will meet with Governor of Sevastopol Sergei Menyailo.
The Crimean peninsula seceded from Ukraine and became part of Russia after more than 96 percent of local voters supported the move in a referendum in March 2014. The Western countries, including the EU members, have not recognized the legitimacy of the vote, imposing several rounds of sanctions on Russia over what they consider a Crimean "annexation."
In July 2015, a group of 10 French lawmakers visited Crimea despite domestic and European criticism. The lawmakers said at the time that what they had seen in the region was completely different to how it was usually portrayed in Western media.
In April 2016, Mariani said that 36 French National Assembly and Senate members had expressed their desire to join the French delegation due to travel to Crimea in July.