Away from official statements and closed-door sessions, open microphones at the G7 summit in France revealed a different side of the participating leaders, capturing candid exchanges, spontaneous remarks, and amusing moments ranging from jokes about smoking and football to sardonic commentary.
The weighty files on the G7 agenda did not prevent lighter moments from making their presence felt — particularly when open microphones exposed a diplomacy without a necktie: leaders swapping jokes and anecdotes, escaping the hot-button issues to talk about subjects well off the agenda.
With US President Donald Trump dominating the summit's atmosphere, alongside a number of leaders with strong personalities, the three-day gathering at the French resort saw several striking and amusing moments.
Trump — as is his habit — seized a large share of the spotlight with spontaneous remarks that blended humour with displays of self-confidence. Perhaps the moment most expressive of his character came on the final day of the summit, when he entered the hall after the other leaders had already taken their seats and French President Emmanuel Macron had begun his address. Trump fired off a quick remark: "I'm the boss" — a comment the attendees grasped immediately, triggering a wave of laughter. Macron received it with a smile and simply asked how he was doing before the meeting got under way.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was heard saying as she entered one of the morning sessions: "I need a coffee," to which German Chancellor Friedrich Merz replied with a laugh: "And a cigarette too?"
But Meloni, well known as a heavy smoker, caught those present off guard by announcing that she had quit smoking a month ago, prompting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to applaud and cheer her with a "Bravo," before European Council President António Costa joined the conversation, recalling that he had given up smoking for good in 2005.
In a moment that blended diplomacy and sport, Merz presented Trump with a German national football team shirt bearing his name and the number 47 — a reference to his being the 47th President of the United States. Trump appeared delighted with the gift, which carried a symbolic message that allies "play on the same team" despite the disagreements that sometimes colour their relations.
These moments may not have changed anything in terms of issues, files, or momentous decisions, but they reveal a rare dimension of major summits — where protocol mingles with jokes and anecdotes that captivate the media, and where behind the official faces the leaders' personalities emerge as they truly are in their human nature, far from the closing statements, speeches, and carefully calculated declarations.
At a summit dominated by complex files and intertwined international crises, the open microphones succeeded in offering a different narrative — one that might aptly be described as politics when it takes off its tie, if only for a moment.