France has moved the second formal G7 foreign ministers’ meeting of its presidency from Marseille to Paris, days before it opens. The meeting will run on Monday and Tuesday, November 9 and 10. For companies exposed to Gulf shipping, Ukraine or energy markets, the text matters more than the venue. Ministers meet with sea lane security, energy supply and the war in Ukraine all unresolved.
Reuters reported on November 5 that France told delegations of the change on Wednesday. It quoted correspondence saying the change was “primarily due to logistical and operational reasons,” citing the demands of holding the G7 meeting and the Paris Peace Forum in a compressed period. Reuters said France’s foreign ministry confirmed the change without giving further details.
The move follows six weeks of protests in France. Reuters reported that security forces have been stretched since September and that Marseille saw some of the worst violence on October 17. Diplomats it quoted called the decision chaotic. The presidency’s online calendar still listed Marseille on Thursday.
What ministers have on the table
The presidency had not published an agenda when this was written. South Korea’s foreign ministry, whose minister Cho Hyun attends at France’s invitation, said the talks are expected to cover artificial intelligence and developments in the Middle East, according to Yonhap.
The record of the group’s last meeting gives a further guide. France’s readout of the informal session in New York on September 21 listed financial and military support to Ukraine, air defense, energy resilience, freedom of navigation, North Korea and the Indo-Pacific. Ministers there endorsed a statement calling on the Houthis to stop attacks on civilian shipping and on Iran to end its support for the group.
G7 leaders went further on October 2. They called for the “immediate and full restoration of navigational rights and principles in the Strait of Hormuz” and said they would maintain sanctions on Russia while working to limit spillovers into fuel, gas and other commodity markets.
What to watch
The meeting comes nine days after G20 foreign ministers ended talks in Atlanta without a joint statement. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who chaired in Atlanta, is among the ministers expected in France. He said there that he expected to see Brazil’s foreign minister at the G7 meeting.
Three things bear directly on business: any new language on protecting commercial shipping, any change in the wording on Russia sanctions, and any foreign ministers’ language on AI.
Paris also hosts a donors’ conference for the Chornobyl New Safe Confinement on November 9, co-chaired by France, Ukraine and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The presidency’s calendar then lists G7 interior ministers in Lyon on November 20 and 21.
Sources
- France, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs: Informal G7 foreign ministers’ meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (September 22, 2026)
- Global Affairs Canada: G7 foreign ministers’ statement on Bab al-Mandab and navigational rights and freedoms
- Élysée: G7 leaders’ statement on global energy security and market stability
- G7 Évian 2026: G7 agenda
- G7 Évian 2026: Meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors in Bangkok
- U.S. Department of State: Secretary Rubio at a press availability, Atlanta
- Reuters via U.S. News: France makes last-minute G7 ministerial location switch
- Yonhap via The Korea Times: FM Cho to attend G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Paris
