"We all live under the same climate – it is warm. And there is nothing glacial anymore"
French President Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s right-wing leader Giorgia Meloni on Thursday kept a united front as they sought to deepen cooperation in defence, space and energy after years of often testy ties.
Meloni, fresh from her public fallout with US President Donald Trump, met Macron in the resort town of Antibes for her first bilateral summit with the French leader.
The negotiations marked the first summit since a treaty on a strategic alliance came into force in 2021, elevating relations to a level comparable to that between France and Germany.
After talks at the Villa Eilenroc, a dazzling 19th-century residence overlooking the Mediterranean, the pair brushed aside suggestions of tensions, with Macron calling the Italian leader “Dear Giorgia”.
