G7 foreign ministers' meeting moved from Marseille to Paris
The talks on 9 and 10 November will be held at the Quai d'Orsay to ease overlap with the Paris Peace Forum.
G7 foreign ministers' meeting scheduled for Monday and Tuesday has been moved from Marseille to Paris to ease the French foreign minister's participation in the Paris Peace Forum.
Delegations were informed that the talks will now take place in the building of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (Quai d'Orsay), rather than at the Palais du Pharo in Marseille.
Timing and participants
The French ministry had earlier announced that Jean-Noël Barrot would chair the G7 foreign ministers' meeting on 9 and 10 November at the Palais du Pharo. "This second official meeting, organized under France's G7 presidency, will allow ministers to coordinate positions on the main current foreign policy issues, particularly on resolving international crises," the ministry said at the time.
According to the same announcement, ministers from the G7 and representatives of six partner countries — Saudi Arabia, Egypt, South Korea, Kenya, Brazil and Ukraine — were expected to take part. The French G7 presidency, which groups Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Japan, the United States and France, ends at the end of the year, after which the United States will assume the presidency.
Organizers told participants the relocation was for "logistical and operational reasons." A circulated document noted that holding the G7 meeting and the Paris Peace Forum almost on the same dates requires a large mobilisation of staff, equipment, security services, accommodation and transport for delegations. The Paris Peace Forum is scheduled for 10 and 11 November at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris.
Diplomatic sources said delegations were notified on Wednesday evening. Both events had been scheduled months in advance and, until the start of this week, there had been no indication they would be changed. French security forces have been under pressure since September because of a sustained student protest movement that expanded into wider demonstrations; the October 17 protests in several French cities, including Marseille, ended in large-scale unrest with looting and clashes with police.
Photo: press material from the event
