The Japan Times - France hosts G7 dominated by Trump, Iran

Host President Emmanuel Macron wants to advance a packed agenda of sensitive topics ranging from limiting global economic imbalances to increasing control in the digital sphere, notably AI.

A parade of world leaders will take place over the next three days at the spa resort of Evian on Lake Geneva.

France is keen to expand the reach of the G7 beyond its membership of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

President Volodymyr Zelensky will arrive Tuesday for a session on Ukraine, while Arab leaders including Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will be there to discuss Iran.

The leaders of Brazil, Egypt, India, Kenya and South Korea are also attending.

After the announcement on the eve of the summit of the US-Iran agreement to end the war, Macron said G7 leaders would on Monday discuss its hoped-for "consequences", including the long-term reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Beyond politics, Sam Altman, the head of artificial intelligence giant OpenAI, Anthropic chief Dario Amodei and Arthur Mensch of their European rival Mistral AI, will attend a lunch on Wednesday on protecting minors in the digital sphere.

A vast security lockdown is in place, mobilising thousands of police and troops, an operation that extends to neighbouring Switzerland on the other side of the lake.

On Sunday, police and people protesting the G7 summit clashed in the Swiss city of Geneva. Protesters threw bottles, stones, pieces of cement and firecrackers near the United Nations headquarters at the police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons.

- Fresh from birthday -

Trump arrives Monday fresh from his 80th birthday the day before, which included mixed martial arts fights on the White House lawn -- an event that forced France to shift the dates of the entire summit.

Against the backdrop of the placid sheen of Lake Geneva in the hometown of the Evian water brand, the other G7 leaders will seek to find common ground with Trump after a sometimes stormy year for Transatlantic ties.

The G7 leaders are impatient to see the Strait of Hormuz reopened and an easing in the global pricing pressure.

"The aim will be to see the consequences of this agreement, support for Lebanon, the lasting reopening of Hormuz and of course the concluding of an accord on nuclear and ballistic activities in Iran," Macron said.

"We will also look at the ways and means of diversifying energy routes from the region, to get away from our dependence," he added.

The European leaders and Canada will also be keen to remind Trump of the importance of pushing Russia to accept a peace on Ukraine's terms, more than four years after the invasion of its neighbour.

Zelensky said on Sunday he would be meeting with Trump to discuss "good ideas that could help advance peace and protect lives".

Trump's G7 stay will begin with talks with Macron on Monday from 1500 GMT, followed by a working dinner with all the participants.

Unusually, he is to extend his stay in France by dining with Macron at the Palace of Versailles outside Paris on Wednesday after the G7 finishes.

For Macron, the summit will be one of his last chances to burnish his international standing and promote his cherished idea of European strategic autonomy before he leaves office next year.

In contrast, Britain's beleaguered leader Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be attending days after his hitherto loyal defence minister resigned over military spending. He also faces the possible return to parliament of a rival who may seek to oust him.

China, as so often at G7 meetings, will be conspicuous by its absence. But leaders will discuss issues including Beijing's dominance and control in the market for rare earth minerals used in everyday electronic appliances.

T.Sasaki--JT