THE FINANCE SECTOR

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An initial meeting of Ministers was held by videoconference on January 27, 2026, to present the priorities of the French G7 presidency on economic and financial issues, take stock of the situation in Ukraine, and discuss current international tensions. Meetings will be scheduled throughout the year, culminating in the meeting of G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in Paris on May 18–19, 2026.

The work of the G7 Finance track will build on the continuity of previous presidencies, in particular the Canadian presidency, and will be closely coordinated with the U.S. presidency of the G20.

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The priorities of the Finance track are based on three pillars:

1. Reducing macroeconomic imbalances and strengthening economic security

The global economy faces persistent imbalances: current account disparities among major economies, excess industrial capacity, trade tensions, and strains on global supply chains. These imbalances fuel geopolitical and trade tensions and stem from unbalanced growth models.

France seeks for the G7 Finance track to engage in an in-depth dialogue on these imbalances and to identify collective levers for action to address them, while ensuring economic security.

The issue will be addressed from a macroeconomic perspective, with the aim of establishing a shared diagnosis of the causes of these imbalances, agreeing on a set of public policy commitments to reduce them, and providing for monitoring of these commitments.

It will also be addressed from the perspective of economic security, with the objective of deepening the analysis of industrial policies and unfair trade practices, continuing work on sustainable cross-border e-commerce, and securing supply chains for critical minerals. This last point will be a key focus of the French G7 presidency, in a context where geopolitical tensions significantly increase the risk of supply chain destabilization.

This work will be coordinated with that of the Trade track and may involve states beyond the G7.

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2. From Assistance to Partnership: Redefining the Framework of International Partnerships with Developing Countries to Preserve It

The international development aid system has enabled considerable progress, but it is now at a critical juncture.

This model is currently in crisis due to growing challenges to its legitimacy, effectiveness, and results, both in donor countries and in developing countries.

It appears insufficiently adapted to the needs of recipient countries, in a context of shrinking public resources and investment needs that remain substantial.

To preserve international solidarity, the French presidency will advocate for a redefinition of the existing framework.

The G7 Finance track will aim to promote a shift from an assistance-based approach to a mutually beneficial partnership approach, mobilizing all available public and private financing in support of sustainable development.

This objective will also involve optimizing the use of concessional resources and reducing the fragmentation of the current financial architecture of official development aid.

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3. Supporting Balanced, Sustainable Growth While Preserving Financial Stability Through Fair Rules of the Game

In a context marked by the emergence of new technologies and global economic fragmentation, the pursuit of balanced growth must rely on fair rules of the game that are adapted to the transformations of the global economy.

The French presidency will focus on three priorities in this regard:

Continuing the reform of international taxation;

Initiating discussions on competitive issues related to the artificial intelligence sector;

Modernizing multilateral rules governing public support to exporting companies.

In an uncertain environment, preserving the stability of the financial system also requires collective action aimed at identifying vulnerabilities and preventing risks, without undermining global growth.

The French presidency will address this issue through four complementary areas:

Combating financial crime and illicit flows;

Increasing consideration of climate-related risks and extreme weather events;

Analyzing risks and opportunities related to non-bank financial intermediaries;

Anticipating the impacts of new technologies.

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THE DIGITAL SECTOR

The ministers responsible for digital affairs from the G7 countries will meet in Paris on May 29, 2026.

Following the Action Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI) held in Paris in February 2025, France aims to strengthen a shared understanding that AI and digital technologies offer transformative opportunities for society as a whole, but also generate significant challenges. Emerging technologies—including AI—are crucial for our competitiveness, particularly for our SMEs, our companies, and our shared future. AI promises profound changes in our societies, in our relationship with knowledge, work, information, culture, and even language. New risks are emerging, requiring a coordinated and multilateral response to both understand their nature and provide policy solutions that support innovation while respecting human rights.

For 2026, the French presidency aims to deepen our digital dialogue with G7 countries, identifying possible areas of convergence between our respective digital policies and strengthening the principles we advocate to protect human rights from risks arising from digital technologies and their uses. The G7 presidency provides a unique opportunity to pursue this convergence ambition, despite the challenging geopolitical context, by building particularly on the momentum and outcomes of the AI Action Summit in Paris in February 2025, which achieved broad consensus on the opportunities and challenges of AI.

Within this framework, the four main themes of the Digital track will be:

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1. Ensuring Safe AI in the Service of the Common Good

The French presidency will be an opportunity to work toward establishing international consensus on AI safety, at a time when awareness of these risks seems to be waning—for example, risks of AI misuse for malicious purposes or cybersecurity threats. France will invite its G7 partners to collaborate on improving a tool for comparing AI-generated content detectors, in order to encourage the sharing of expertise in this field. This theme will also focus on highlighting projects with a positive vision of AI—for example, in disease detection—and continuing initiatives such as the Hiroshima Process launched at the Paris Summit for safe, secure, and trustworthy AI.

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2. Accelerating the Diffusion and Innovation of AI in the Economy

The presidency aims to reach a common approach among G7 countries on what constitutes an open-source AI system. This will promote transparency, allowing companies—especially SMEs—to more widely adopt AI tools and benefit from the opportunities they offer. A self-assessment platform for SMEs’ digital and AI skills, developed with the Ministry of Labor, will also aim to support the accelerated diffusion of AI within SMEs.

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3. Reconciling Resilience and Sustainability in the Digital Sector

During the French presidency, work will be undertaken to reconcile the challenges of the digital transition with the environmental transition, and to identify best practices and measures to assess and mitigate the impacts associated with the rapid growth of digital usage, particularly generative AI. The impacts to be addressed include, for example, the consumption of energy, water, and metals, the supply of low-carbon energy to data centers, and highlight the importance of implementing coordinated strategies among G7 countries.

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4. Protecting Minors Online

The French presidency will prioritize establishing principles to define a safe digital environment for minors, such as:

The need for protective settings for minors regarding privacy, security, and the reduction of addiction risks, as well as mitigating risks to children’s physical and mental health and their development;

The implementation of age verification mechanisms or the promotion of user-friendly parental control tools.

An associated action plan will also aim to translate these principles into concrete cooperative actions among G7 countries. Additionally, a scientific platform for assessing online risks to minors will be considered to support the effective, science-based implementation of these principles.