The alpine resort of Évian-les-Bains, better known for its mineral water than its geopolitics, will become the temporary centre of global diplomacy from Monday as leaders of the world's seven largest advanced economies gather for their annual summit. The 52nd G7 meeting runs until Wednesday on the French shore of Lake Geneva. By most assessments, it arrives at one of the most fraught moments in recent memory.
Donald Trump is expected to fly to France late Sunday, immediately after watching a mixed-martial arts bout on the White House South Lawn — a fight that falls on his 80th birthday. His delayed departure forced the summit itself to be pushed back by a day.
According to the Élysée schedule, Macron will receive Trump privately at 17:00 on Monday before a formal welcome dinner that evening billed as "Responding together to the major international challenges".
After the G7 summit, the American president will travel to the Palace of Versailles for a dinner with Emmanuel Macron. According to the Élysée Palace, this reception will mark the 250th anniversary of American independence, in a "key location for Franco-American friendship where the treaty enshrining the independence" of the United States was signed in 1783.
