France in the G20: a guide for Model G20 delegates

France is one of the 19 countries in the G20, alongside the European Union and the African Union. It hosted the 2011 summit at Cannes, where the G20 set out several of its working rules, and in 2026 it chairs the G7 while the United States holds the G20 presidency. If you are assigned France, know where France ends and the EU begins: the EU has its own seat and handles trade for its members. This guide reflects official sources as of mid October 2026.

At a glance

• System (1958): a semi-presidential republic under the Constitution of 4 October 1958. Capital: Paris.
• Leaders (2026): President Emmanuel Macron, first elected in 2017 and re-elected on 24 April 2022, and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who leads a minority government, according to press reports.
• People and economy (2025 to 2026): about 69.1 million people on 1 January 2026 (Insee, the statistics institute) and GDP of about US$3.37 trillion in 2025 (World Bank).
• G20 presidency (2011): the Cannes Summit, 3 to 4 November 2011.
• EU, euro and G7 (1958, 1999 and 2026): EU member since 1958, in the euro since 1999, G7 chair in 2026.
• Key ministers (2026): Jean-Noël Barrot (Europe and Foreign Affairs) and Roland Lescure (Economy and Finance).

France's G20 story

France's 2011 presidency set six priorities, from reforming the international monetary system and financial regulation to commodity price volatility, jobs, corruption and development. The Cannes declaration agreed an Action plan for Growth and Jobs, set up a G20 Task-Force on Employment "with a focus on youth employment" and endorsed extra loss absorbency for globally systemically important banks, so that "taxpayers should not bear the costs of resolution".

Cannes also shows that a host does not get everything it wants. France asked for "a tax on financial transactions" to fund development, but the declaration only says "We acknowledge the initiatives in some of our countries to tax the financial sector". Cannes shaped how the G20 works: leaders said "It is a Leader-led and informal group and it should remain so" and decided "to formalise the Troika" of past, present and future presidencies. For 2026, South Africa says, as reported by EWN, that the United States told it that it will forgo the troika format.

The hosts announced are the United States (2026), the United Kingdom (2027) and the Republic of Korea (2028), so no new French presidency is on the calendar. At the Johannesburg summit in November 2025, Macron warned, as reported by AFP: "The G20 is at risk and we are not collectively mobilising towards some priorities." France's G20 and G7 sherpa is traditionally the President's diplomatic adviser.

What France wants from the G20

These are the French government's positions; other members disagree with some of them.

• A focused, informal G20. The foreign ministry calls the G20 "a forum where France and its European partners can make their voices heard" and sets out the conclusions of South Africa's G20@20 Review, in which France took part: to "rationalize its work, which has suffered bureaucratic inflation" and "maintain its informal nature."
• Fixing global imbalances. This is the priority of France's G7 presidency. Macron says "addressing global imbalances is a shared responsibility of both surplus and deficit economies". His Davos diagnosis is contested: "American overconsumption, Chinese underconsumption and overinvestment, and European underinvestment and lack of competitiveness." The US and Chinese governments would not necessarily accept it.
• Trade. Macron says "Trade wars, protectionist escalation, races towards overproduction will only produce losers," but also "Protection doesn't mean protectionism." Trade policy is an exclusive EU competence.
• Development and debt. France promotes the Paris Pact for People and the Planet (4P), now 70 states including India: "No country should have to choose between its development and protection of the planet." A French Treasury team has served as the Paris Club's secretariat since 1956.
• Nuclear power and climate. In March 2026, 36 states including France called nuclear energy "a safe, secure, reliable, baseload and dispatchable source of electricity generation". France is also covered by the EU's legally binding target to cut emissions by 90% by 2040 compared with 1990, made up of a domestic target of 85% and up to 5% from international carbon credits.
• AI. France hosted the AI Action Summit in Paris in February 2025, co-chaired with India. The summit statement, which both countries signed, calls for "Promoting AI accessibility to reduce digital divides".
• Reformed institutions. France backs permanent UN Security Council seats for Germany, Brazil, India and Japan and more African representation, and in 2013 committed not to use its veto in cases of mass atrocities.

Alliances and groupings

• G7: the French foreign ministry says it was created "on France's initiative following the first oil crisis", with the first summit at Rambouillet in 1975. At Evian in June 2026, France invited India, Kenya, South Korea, Brazil and Egypt as partners.
• EU and euro area: the EU sits at the G20 separately, "represented by the European Commission", and the European Central Bank sets interest rates. France does not speak for the EU.
• Nuclear Alliance: 14 EU governments backing nuclear energy, a group inside the EU rather than an EU position.
• UN Security Council and NATO: a permanent member of the Council, which it chaired in September 2026, and a founding member of NATO.

France and India

Their Strategic Partnership, launched on 26 January 1998, was "the first-ever for India with a Western nation, and the first for France with a non-Western nation." The Horizon 2047 Roadmap followed in July 2023, and in February 2026 ties were upgraded to a Special Global Strategic Partnership.

• Trade: 13.6 billion euros in 2025-26, more than double a decade earlier. France is India's third-largest EU trading partner, after the Netherlands and Germany.
• Defence: delivery of 36 Rafale jets completed in 2022, and an agreement on 28 April 2025 for 26 Rafale-M aircraft for the Indian Navy.
• Climate and AI: they launched the International Solar Alliance at COP21 in Paris in 2015 and co-chaired the 2025 Paris AI summit.
• The UN: "France reiterated its firm support for India's permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council" (February 2026).
• G20 link: France was an original signatory of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor MoU, signed on the margins of the Delhi G20 summit on 9 September 2023.

Recent developments

• 15 to 17 June 2026: the Evian G7 summit, where Macron says "Nine statements were adopted unanimously". The growth statement promises to "continue these efforts within the G20 under the United States host year".
• 8 September 2026: with the UK and Canadian leaders, Macron recalls "One year ago, we recognised the State of Palestine." This is France's declared policy, not a G20 position.
• Early October 2026: the minority government presents its 2027 budget. CNBC reports the finance ministry expects debt to reach a record 119.3% of GDP in 2026.

Representing France at a Model G20

• Know your two hats. France is a G20 member and the 2026 G7 chair. Never say it holds the G20 presidency or speaks for the EU.
• Likely allies. Germany, Italy and the EU; India on AI and Security Council reform; Paris Pact members on development; nuclear statement signers such as Japan and South Korea.
• Likely red lines. Expect France to resist what Macron called "an endless accumulation of new tariffs that are fundamentally unacceptable", and moves that weaken the forum.
• Know the limits. With a minority government, debt expected to hit a record and a presidential election next spring, France is better placed to offer ideas and coalitions than large public funds.
• Build bridges. Present Macron's diagnosis as France's view, and draft with the neutral G7 line: "Countries with large and persistent external surpluses should strengthen domestic sources of growth."
• Documents to quote. The Cannes declaration (2011), Macron's Davos speech (January 2026), the Evian growth statement (June 2026) and the India-France joint statement (February 2026).

What to do next

Build your brief with how to write a Model G20 position paper, and see how consensus texts are negotiated in how a G20 leaders' declaration is agreed. Then read the G20 Sherpa Track and Finance Track explained and the 2026 G20 presidency explained.

Model G20 is One Young India's simulation of the G20 summit for students, held as a three-day residential summit at FLAME University.