G20 Country France: An Agriculture Superpower With Strong Economy

France has been a member of the G20 since the group was formed in 1999 amid the financial crisis that hit East Asia and Southeast Asia in 1997. Besides G20, France is also a part of the G8. A founding member of the G20, it holds a prominent position in shaping global economic policies and diplomatic initiatives. As the world's seventh-largest economy, France plays a vital role within the group in addressing global challenges.

It hosted the sixth G20 summit, at Cannes on November 3-4, 2011, having taken over the presidency on November 10, 2010. The agendas for the Cannes Summit were drawn up by the Troika countries — the Republic of Korea (2010 chair), France (2011 chair), and Mexico (2012 chair).  

At the heart of the work programme of the G20 Summit in Cannes (France) was the reform of the international monetary system. The G20 leaders also agreed to establish the Agricultural Market Information System, an inter-agency platform to enhance food market transparency and encourage international policy coordination in times of crisis. The establishment of the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) was one of the key outcomes of the summit.  

Apart from the G20 members, Spain, UAE, Singapore, Ethiopia and the African Union were also invited to attend the meet. The 2011 summit was held amid a delicate global economic situation. The meeting centred around the financial and agriculture sectors and also adopted an Action plan for Growth and Jobs.    

The G20 joint statement highlighted the importance of strengthening IMF surveillance growth, and meeting commitments notably on banks, OTC derivatives, compensation practices and credit rating agencies, and intensifying our monitoring to track deficiencies. At the summit, the G20 leaders adopted the Action Plan on Food Price Volatility and Agriculture put forth by Agriculture Ministers' first meeting in Paris on 22-23 June 2011.  

France has been critical of the Rusia-Ukraine war and has condemned Moscow in the strongest terms. A member of the G20 group, Russia has been facing strict sanctions from France as well making it difficult for the countries to arrive at a consensus. France blamed Russia after the G20 failed to agree on a roadmap to phase down the global use of fossil fuels, during a meeting of energy ministers in India.  

Macron attended the 2022 G20 summit, held in Indonesia, and will be attending in person the 2023 India summit also.    

France and the other 19 G20 members represent 75 per cent of global trade, 65 per cent of the world population, and account for 85 per cent of the world's GDP.  

The other members of the G20 are --  Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK and the US, besides the European Union.