In Antibes, Macron and Meloni revive the Rome-Paris axis.
Almost five years after the signing of the Quirinale Agreement in November 2021, Italy and France are meeting again for an intergovernmental summit in the French town on the French Riviera with the goal of relaunching bilateral cooperation. At the center of the meeting between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron are defense, space, energy, transport, and infrastructure. On the table is also a new roadmap for defense cooperation starting from the Samp/T program, a declaration of intent on the Bromo space project – the satellite sector alliance between Leonardo, Airbus, and Thales – and several economic and industrial agreements.
“Diplomacy between the two countries is sometimes tense, but they are establishing themselves as essential strategic partners. Despite the political farce, economic ties between France and Italy are expanding rapidly,” notes the French newspaper Les Echos. “The French and Italian leaders are mending their rifts with a summit on the French Riviera and a series of agreements,” comments Politico.
All the details.
THE RELAUNCH OF DIALOGUE BETWEEN MELONI AND MACRON
Yesterday Meloni and Macron decided to relaunch cooperation that in recent years has also been marked by moments of political tension. The Antibes summit was in fact the first bilateral meeting between the two leaders since the one held in Rome on June 3, 2025.
France and Italy reaffirm their desire to further strengthen bilateral cooperation to contribute to building a “more united, sovereign, democratic, resilient, and competitive” Europe, reads the joint declaration adopted at the end of the 36th Italy-France intergovernmental summit and signed by the French president and the Italian prime minister. In the document, the two leaders emphasize that the summit is an opportunity to celebrate the friendship between France and Italy, “deeply rooted in history and geography,” and reaffirm the value of the Quirinale Treaty, defined as a “cornerstone” of bilateral relations and an essential tool to strengthen cooperation for the benefit of the two countries, their citizens, and the future of the EU.
Faced with numerous international challenges, Rome and Paris confirm their commitment to intensify collaboration in key strategic sectors, including politics, economy, agriculture, social affairs, education, research, culture, industry, and innovation.
DEFENSE AND SPACE AT THE CENTER OF THE SUMMIT
Among the main outcomes is the signing of a roadmap on cooperation in the defense sector for the period 2026-2031.
“At this stage, we want to focus on the most strategic areas, such as defense, for example the Samp/T system, and also space, which is a sector where we can make a difference,” stated Prime Minister Meloni at the press conference with Élysée resident Macron at the end of the bilateral meeting.
The Franco-Italian air defense system Samp/T is developed by the Italian-French consortium Eurosam (composed of Mbda Italy, Mbda France, and Thales), one of the pillars of Ukraine’s air defense, which has become essential for intercepting missiles and drones launched by Moscow. The commercial success of the Samp-T Ng successor is considered a test for Europe’s commitment to strengthening its autonomy in the production and purchase of armaments, in a rearmament context linked to the Russian threat.
“This summit,” Macron emphasized, “primarily strengthens our cooperation in defense. Our ministers have met to discuss our shared priorities: ongoing support for Ukraine, joint participation in peace operations and common security and defense policies, joint armament programs, with Franco-Italian successes such as the Aster missiles or the next-generation Samp/T.”
SEVEN AGREEMENTS TO STRENGTHEN BILATERAL COOPERATION
The Antibes intergovernmental summit concluded with the signing of seven agreements between Italy and France. The accords include a declaration of intent to strengthen cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, accompanied by a joint declaration on seas and oceans. An administrative agreement was also signed for the creation and organization of a joint team dedicated to combating illegal immigration. Among other documents are the timeline for cooperation in the defense sector for 2026-2031, a joint declaration on collaboration in the space field within the framework of the Quirinale Treaty, a memorandum of understanding on geographical indications, a declaration of intent on cultural heritage, and a declaration on the development of the Marseille-Nice-Genoa rail axis.
STRENGTHENING COOPERATION TO SUPPORT THE EUROPEAN DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL BASE
One of the key priorities of the meeting was strengthening ties between France and Italy in defense, Politico noted yesterday.
“Our roadmap on capabilities and the bilateral committee for defense industrial strategy, established today, will strengthen our cooperation on capabilities and industry to support the European defense industrial and technological base,” highlighted the French president.
“We are also strengthening our cooperation in the energy sector. Recent events have once again demonstrated that it is more necessary than ever to strengthen the energy independence of our Europe, and France made a clear and decisive choice many years ago in favor of nuclear energy production; in Italy, a legislative process aimed at a relaunch” of this production is underway, Macron explained.
THE BROMO ALLIANCE SEALED
As already mentioned, the two leaders applauded the Bromo project, the alliance between Leonardo, Airbus, and Thales created with the goal of unifying their respective space activities into a new company. With this operation, the three companies aim to create a stronger European player capable of competing with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Chinese rivals.
“We hope that our cooperation can also support the success of the Bromo program, which aims to create a European champion in this sector,” declared Prime Minister Meloni, adding that in the space economy “Italy and France can boast an advanced industrial supply chain, as well as being the only two European nations with autonomous access to space thanks to the Vega-C and Ariane 6 satellite launchers.”
For his part, President Macron highlighted how “We reiterated with Meloni our support for the project” which “will allow the creation of a European leader in the space sector, as well as the Iris2 project, which will constitute the backbone of European satellite connectivity.” This is the initiative with which the EU aims to position itself in managing satellite systems currently dominated by Starlink, the satellite internet service of Elon Musk’s SpaceX. While SpaceX has already deployed over 10,000 Starlink satellites in space (half of those in orbit), Iris2 aims to reach full operational capability in the early 2030s.
“The Thales Alenia Space site in Cannes, which was visited today by the French and Italian ministers, is a symbol of this,” Macron continued, adding that “we must continue to put these skills at the service of strengthening competitiveness, resilience, and European sovereignty: for autonomous access to space, satellite communications, observation, exploration, and space defense.”
THE FRANCO-ITALIAN BUSINESS FORUM IN LE CANNET
Finally, on the sidelines of the summit, the Franco-Italian Business Forum was also held in Le Cannet.
Framing the strengthening of political cooperation is also an economic relationship that is constantly growing between the two countries. In 2025, trade between France and Italy reached a new historic milestone, hitting 112 billion euros, a 6% increase compared to the previous year. As Les Echos recalls, Italian exports to France reached 65 billion euros (+5.3%). At the same time, Italian imports from France increased by 7.3%, reaching 47 billion euros.
