Macron hosts Meloni in first bilateral summit on the French Riviera

French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Antibes on Thursday for their first bilateral summit. The meeting is taking place at Villa Eilenroc on the French Riviera and is intended to ease often strained ties between the two leaders. It comes days after Meloni's fallout with Donald Trump, adding a wider transatlantic backdrop to the talks.

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The French presidency said the summit will be used to deepen cooperation in several strategic sectors, including defence, nuclear energy and space. It described France and Italy as countries that "need each other", underlining the practical importance of the meeting. The talks are the first since a strategic alliance treaty between the two countries came into force in 2021.

Macron and Meloni lead the European Union's second- and third-largest economies, but their political styles and alliances have often differed. Macron is a pro-European centrist, while Meloni heads a coalition of right and far-right parties. Despite that, both governments have worked to reduce tensions, including during a lengthy one-on-one meeting in Rome in June last year.

The summit also reflects the broader effort to stabilise Franco-Italian relations after a period of public friction. In April, Meloni arrived at the Élysée in Paris for a summit on securing the Strait of Hormuz, where Macron greeted her with an enthusiastic double kiss that appeared to surprise her. A video of the exchange circulated widely, but both leaders later laughed it off.

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The latest meeting suggests both sides are still trying to turn occasional gestures of warmth into more durable cooperation. The timing is notable because Meloni has recently distanced herself from Trump after previously seeking to present herself as a bridge between Europe and the US president. According to the supplied material, she did so after what she described as his "constant, unprovoked attacks".

That shift gives the Antibes summit added significance, because it places Franco-Italian coordination within a wider moment of uncertainty in European relations with Washington. What remains unclear is whether the talks will produce any concrete announcements or simply reinforce an already cautious rapprochement. The immediate focus is on defence, nuclear energy and space, but the extent of any follow-up commitments has not been set out.

The meeting is also being watched for signs of whether Macron and Meloni can sustain a more stable working relationship despite their political differences.

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