Macron hosts Meloni at Antibes for the first France–Italy bilateral summit
The first leaders' summit under the 2021 Quirinal Treaty, focused on defence, space and energy
Summary
The Élysée announced on 12 June that Emmanuel Macron will receive Italian PM Giorgia Meloni on 25 June 2026 in Antibes for their first bilateral summit since she took office in October 2022 — and the first held under the 2021 Quirinal Treaty framework. Nine ministers per side will attend, focused on defence, space, energy and infrastructure; the leaders will visit Thales Alenia Space in Cannes, with a Franco-Italian business forum in Le Cannet. The "Bromo" space-consolidation project (Leonardo, Airbus, Thales) is a likely topic. The summit gains weight from the timing: it follows the Trump and Meloni rupture publicly over a G7 photo and Italy's Iran refusal rupture and the Berlin Merz hosts the E5 in Berlin to align before the NATO summit in Turkey meeting, pulling Italy toward the European core as its US tie frays.
By the numbers
- 25 June 2026 — the summit date.
- 9 — ministers per side.
- 2021 — signing of the Quirinal Treaty this is the first summit under.
- October 2022 — when Meloni took office; no bilateral summit until now.
Why it matters
A first Quirinal-Treaty summit institutionalises Franco-Italian cooperation just as Rome's Washington relationship sours, and the defence-and-space agenda — Bromo, Thales Alenia — ties two of Europe's big industrial powers closer at a moment of US drawdown.
What to watch
- Concrete outcomes on space (Bromo) and defence industry.
- Whether the summit visibly realigns Italy toward the EU core.
- Migration and energy items where Paris and Rome still diverge.