Macron to Host Meloni in Antibes for Defense and Energy Summit

French President Emmanuel Macron will host Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for a bilateral summit on Thursday in Antibes at the Villa Eilenroc. The French presidency said the meeting will deepen cooperation in defense, nuclear energy and space. The two countries are expected to sign a defense roadmap that highlights the Franco-Italian SAMP/T air defense system already delivered to Ukraine.

Separate agreements on nuclear energy and on a planned European satellite system intended to rival Elon Musk's Starlink will also be signed. The summit occurs days after U.S. President Donald Trump mocked Meloni for supposedly begging him for a photograph at a recent G7 meeting.

France 24 reported that Meloni has since distanced herself from Trump over what she called his constant, unprovoked attacks. A treaty on strategic alliance between France and Italy took effect in 2021. The leaders held a lengthy one-on-one meeting in Rome in June last year and met again in April in Paris, where Macron greeted Meloni with a double kiss upon her arrival in a red Alfa Romeo.

The French presidency stated ahead of the talks that the two nations need each other. Meloni opposes sending Italian troops to Ukraine even in a post-war scenario, while both leaders share opposition to the EU free trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc.