LONDON — French President Emmanuel Macron doesn’t want this year’s G7 summit to adopt formal conclusions if differences on trade and climate change with Donald Trump are too great.



If Macron gets his way, it would be the first time in the history of the G7 that a summit, which brings together the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, the UK, the US, Canada, and Japan, as well as the European Union, ends without a joint leaders’ statement.

The French president’s intention was communicated to the other G7 members by Macron’s emissary and lead negotiator at major international summits — known as a sherpa — at a meeting in Lille, France, in April, according to a diplomatic note of the meeting seen by BuzzFeed News.

During the meeting, the senior French official explained that Macron, who is hosting this year’s G7 in Biarritz, France, in August, would instead prefer a “Chair's Summary” that took stock of the wide-ranging discussions and concrete action to address global challenges debated during the G7 process, rather than spend time endlessly haggling over the drafting of a final communiqué.

Trump has consistently found himself at odds with other G7 countries on key issues ranging from trade and women’s rights to climate change, including on the fundamental multilateral principles that have underpinned the world order since the end of World War II.

At his first G7 summit in Italy, Trump was alone in not committing to the fight against climate change, while at last year’s meeting in Canada the president disavowed a compromise statement via a tweet sent from Air Force One hours after it was agreed, upset at something Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said during a press conference closing the event.

France’s tough stance at the April meeting wasn’t well-received by all. It led to a lively exchange among the meeting’s participants, in particular with the German sherpa who was told that any concerns should be raised directly by Chancellor Angela Merkel with Macron. Berlin is keen to avoid any backtracking on formal commitments made by the G7 in the past two years since President Trump assumed office.

Global summits Trump has participated in have been packed with undiplomatic moments and exhausting negotiations with uncomfortable compromises for all involved. The US has, at times, given ground too.