French President Emmanuel Macron will meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday in the French seaside city of Antibes. This will be the first bilateral meeting between the two countries. The purpose of this meeting is to improve relationships which are often tense. Meloni, one of Europe's most prominent right-wing leaders, will arrive on the French Riviera for her first bilateral meeting with Macron. Earlier, his relations with US President Donald Trump had deteriorated.
The strategic alliance treaty came into force in 2021. After this, this will be the first conversation between the two leaders. This treaty had taken the relations between the two countries to a good level. The French Presidential Office said, “This summit will provide an opportunity to deepen cooperation between France and Italy in several strategic areas, especially defense, nuclear energy and space.” This conversation will take place in 'Villa Ailenrock', a magnificent 19th century house with beautiful views of the Mediterranean Sea. This conversation was preceded by the statement, “We need each other.”
Macron is a pro-Europe and centrist leader, while Meloni is right-wing and leads a coalition of far-right parties. Relations between the two have therefore often been strained. Although France and Italy are the EU's second and third largest economies, the two leaders are not natural allies.
Despite this, he has been trying to reduce tension for some time. Especially, both of them had a long meeting in Rome in June last year. Meloni arrived at the Presidential Palace (Elysée) in a red Alfa Romeo during a summit in Paris in April. There Macron welcomed him very enthusiastically and greeted him by kissing his cheek twice. Melonie was a little surprised at this. In a viral video, Meloni was clearly looking surprised, after which both of them laughed.
