In a sunlit show of diplomacy on the French Riviera, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — newly embroiled in a spat with US leader Donald Trump — sat down with French President Emmanuel Macron in Antibes to nudge a fragile thaw into something more durable.
One of Europe’s most prominent right-wing figures travelled to the resort town for her first bilateral summit with Mr Macron.
The meeting was the first Franco-Italian summit since a 2021 treaty on a strategic alliance took effect, lifting ties to a status comparable with the relationship between France and Germany.
With cameras rolling outside the Picasso Museum in Antibes, Mr Macron welcomed Ms Meloni with a wide smile; the pair exchanged kisses and briefly clasped hands.
“Come, come,” Mr Macron called as he led Ms Meloni inside for a private tour of the museum.
According to the French presidency, the discussions were designed to push cooperation further in strategic areas including defence, nuclear energy and space.
“We need each other,” it said ahead of the talks at the Villa Eilenroc, a 19th-century residence overlooking the Mediterranean.
Relations between Emmanuel Macron and Ms Meloni have been strained
The relationship between Mr Macron, a pro-European centrist, and Ms Meloni — who heads a coalition of right and far-right parties — has frequently been tense.
And while the leaders of the European Union’s second and third largest economies are not natural partners, both have taken steps to lower the temperature, including during a lengthy one-on-one meeting in Rome in June last year.
In April, when leaders convened in Paris for a summit focused on securing the Strait of Hormuz, Ms Meloni arrived at the Elysee in a red Alfa Romeo. Mr Macron greeted her with an exuberant double kiss that seemed to take the Italian leader by surprise.
Video of the moment spread quickly online, showing Ms Meloni looking visibly startled before the two laughed it off.
Trump ‘very upset’
For some time, Ms Meloni had tried to cast herself as a bridge between Europe and Mr Trump.
But after a G7 summit in France, she has put distance between herself and the US leader, citing what she described as his “constant, unprovoked attacks”.
At the same time, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was “unfortunate” that Italy had cancelled an official trip to the United States, adding that Mr Trump was “very upset” by the turn of events.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani was due to travel to Miami earlier this week for a business conference with Mr Rubio, but the State Department confirmed the gathering had been canceled.
Ms Meloni has distanced herself from Mr Trump
“It was unfortunate that an event like that got interrupted,” Mr Rubio told reporters while visiting Bahrain.
“I thought they should have still come, but that said, we had some agreements ready to sign. We’re still going to get them signed soon. We’ll just find a place to do it,” he said.
“Our relations with Italy continue unimpeded at… all the levels. Obviously, the president is very upset,” Mr Rubio added.
“He feels like not just Italy, but other countries, in a time in which we were confronting a threat, not just to us, but more particularly to Europe, many European countries did not step up and do enough.
“I’m sure those points will come up again during the NATO summit” in Turkey next month, he said.
