President Lee to Pay State Visit to France from 6th to 9th...Cooperation with Macron on "AI, Nuclear Power"

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President Lee Jae-myung will make a state visit to France from September 6 to 9, local time, for a summit meeting with President Emmanuel Macron. This visit completes the mutual state visits between the two leaders, coming five months after President Macron’s state visit to Korea in April. The two countries plan to solidify cooperation in security and the economy, as well as in cutting-edge industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), space, nuclear energy, and biotechnology.

President Lee Jae-myung held a joint press conference with President Emmanuel Macron of France at the Blue House on April 3, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On September 4, Wi Sung-rak, chief of the National Security Office, announced at a briefing at the Blue House that President Lee will visit France for four days starting September 6 at the invitation of President Macron. This visit is a result of President Macron’s proposal during his trip to Korea in April, where he invited President Lee to serve as co-chair of the international film and video summit “Lumiere Summit” and extended an invitation for a state visit.

President Lee will arrive in France on the evening of September 6 and, on September 7, will attend the Lumiere Summit alongside President Macron as co-chair in Saint-Paul-de-Vence in southern France. At the Lumiere Summit, France—which pioneered and fueled the growth of the film industry—and Korea, now a powerhouse of K-content, will as co-chair nations discuss the future of the global film and video industry. Wi explained, “We expect this will further expand the foundation for K-content and Korean companies to advance into European and global markets.”

Starting on September 8, President Lee will embark on the full-fledged agenda of the state visit in Paris for two days. On September 8, he will visit the Arc de Triomphe to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and attend the official welcome ceremony hosted by the French government. He will then move to the Élysée Palace for a private lunch attended only by the two presidents, followed by an expanded summit meeting with delegations from both countries present.

Wi stated, “The two leaders will discuss a wide range of cooperation measures in view of the upgraded ‘Global Strategic Partnership’ achieved in April, covering international affairs, security issues, as well as the economy, science and technology, culture, and people-to-people exchanges.”

In particular, this summit is expected to focus on advanced technology sectors such as AI, space, nuclear energy, and biotechnology as key economic agenda items. While Korea and France are competitors in some high-tech industries, the Blue House assesses that there is substantial potential for cooperation in mutually complementary areas such as joint research and development, inter-company collaboration, and expanding into third-country markets. The leaders will also discuss policy measures to provide stable institutional support for exchanges between young people and science and technology professionals.

President Lee Jae-myung and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands on the 3rd at the Blue House ahead of an expanded summit meeting. 2026.4.3 Yonhap News

Photo by Yonhap News

After the summit, President Lee will attend the Korea-France Business Roundtable, where more than 20 companies from both countries will participate, to support the expansion of private-sector economic cooperation. In the evening, he will attend the state banquet hosted by President Macron and the First Lady at the Élysée Palace. On the last day of the state visit, September 9, President Lee will meet with Yael Braun-Pivet, Speaker of the French National Assembly, and hold a luncheon meeting with Korean expatriates. He will then meet with Mathias Cormann, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Wi stated, “In his first year in office, President Lee has successfully achieved reciprocal leader-level visits with major countries such as the United States, China, Japan, and Vietnam, and will now complete mutual state visits with France as well. This visit will serve as an opportunity to both substantively strengthen the Korea-France Global Strategic Partnership, which was upgraded in April, and expand Korea’s diplomatic engagement across Europe.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.