G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains Addresses Geopolitics, Critical Minerals and Casual Hot‑Mic Moments

The Group of Seven met in Evian‑les‑Bains, France, from 15‑17 June 2026 under the French Presidency of Emmanuel Macron. Leaders of the G7 (France, United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada) and outreach partners such as India, Brazil, Kenya, South Korea and Qatar gathered to discuss pressing global issues.

Key agenda items included reaffirming support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, a tentative U.S.–Iran peace framework, and opposition to coercive actions in the Taiwan Strait, East and South China Seas. The summit also highlighted the Indo‑Pacific’s free‑and‑open principle and condemned North Korea’s nuclear programmes.

Economic discussions focused on reducing Western reliance on China for critical minerals. France pushed for a joint statement and measures such as price supports, subsidies and stockpiling aimed at diversifying supply chains for rare earths, lithium and nickel, citing recent Chinese export curbs that disrupted industry.

Artificial intelligence was on the docket, with leaders and CEOs of OpenAI, Anthropic and DeepMind meeting to discuss AI safety and misinformation.

Hot‑mic recordings revealed informal moments: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced she quit smoking; U.S. President Donald Trump made a cryptic comment about "Greenland"; Macron’s watch was jokingly noted as missing; gifts exchanged included personalized bicycles for the upcoming Cycling World Championships and a German football jersey bearing Trump’s name. These lighter exchanges unfolded alongside the serious diplomatic work.