Macron and Meloni to hold first bilateral summit

French President Emmanuel Macron will host Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the southeastern city of Antibes on June 25 for their first bilateral summit, the Élysée Palace announced on Friday.

This will also mark the first high-level meeting between France and Italy since 2021, when the Quirinal Treaty was signed to strengthen the strategic alliance between Paris and Rome, similar to agreements France has with Germany (1963) and Spain (2023).

According to the French presidency, the summit aims to deepen cooperation in key sectors such as defense, space, energy, and infrastructure. Nine ministers from each country will participate, alongside a business forum in nearby Le Cannet. Officials will also visit the headquarters of Thales Alenia Space, a Franco-Italian aerospace company, in Cannes.

The leaders will discuss major European and international issues, as well as ways to strengthen ties between French and Italian societies, particularly in youth and cultural exchanges.

Relations between the pro-European Macron and the nationalist Meloni, who leads a coalition of right-wing and far-right parties, have not always been smooth. However, during a lengthy face-to-face meeting in Rome in June 2025, both leaders sought to reduce tensions, pledging a “shared commitment to a more sovereign Europe” and a “firm agreement on a European competitiveness agenda.”