Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, for talks focused on regional stability, energy security and digital safeguards for minors. The meeting highlighted close bilateral coordination between Greece and France across critical European and Middle Eastern issues.
The two leaders addressed rising energy costs linked to ongoing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, while reviewing progress on major regional infrastructure projects. They also examined shared security concerns across the Eastern Mediterranean and the broader Middle East.
The Elysee Palace serves as the official residence and executive workplace of the President of the French Republic. Greece and France maintain strong diplomatic, defense and economic ties within the European Union and NATO, frequently coordinating on maritime security and energy integration initiatives in Southern Europe.
Electricity interconnection and energy security
Discussions centered heavily on the next steps for the Great Sea Interconnector, a major subsea electricity link designed to connect the power grids of Greece and Cyprus. The project is regarded as a key initiative for connecting the Eastern Mediterranean to the European energy network and enhancing overall energy security.
The meeting followed a recent agreement securing investment group Meridiam as the majority shareholder in the Great Sea Interconnector company, which was established to develop the project under initial planning frameworks. Mitsotakis and Macron evaluated how the venture supports energy diversification across member states.
The Great Sea Interconnector aims to end the energy isolation of Cyprus by linking its grid with continental Europe via Crete. Meridiam is a global infrastructure investment firm headquartered in Paris that specializes in developing and managing long-term public infrastructure projects across Europe, North America and Africa.
Energy security has become a primary policy objective for the European Union, which seeks to reduce reliance on vulnerable supply lines by expanding interconnections and diversifying energy sources across the Mediterranean basin.
Strait of Hormuz crisis and energy costs
Mitsotakis raised concerns regarding the economic and energy fallout from the ongoing crisis in the Strait of Hormuz during the meeting. He emphasized the necessity of European Union initiatives to alleviate cost pressures exerted on consumers and businesses by volatile global energy markets.
The Greek prime minister noted that developments in the strategic waterway remain a major source of uncertainty for international oil and gas trade. Tensions along key shipping routes directly affect fuel prices and inflation across European economies.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow maritime passage between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, serving as one of the world's most critical transit choke points for crude oil and liquefied natural gas exports. Disruptions to commercial maritime traffic through the strait routinely trigger immediate price spikes in global energy markets.
Regional diplomacy in the Eastern Mediterranean
During their discussion on the Eastern Mediterranean, Iran and the wider Middle East, Mitsotakis briefed Macron on his recent official visit to Egypt. In Cairo, the Greek prime minister held talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides.
The briefing underlined the growing strategic cooperation between Athens, Nicosia and Cairo. Coordination among the three nations plays an important role in regional stability and maritime policy in the Eastern Mediterranean ahead of upcoming diplomatic developments.
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has served as President of Egypt since 2014, while Nikos Christodoulides was elected President of Cyprus in 2023. Athens, Nicosia and Cairo have built a trilateral alliance focused on energy cooperation, maritime boundaries and regional stability over recent years.
Restricting social media access for minors
The two leaders also aligned on child safety in the digital sphere, focusing on a proposal to ban social media access for children under 15 years old. Protecting minors online has emerged as a shared priority for both the Greek and French governments.
The discussion followed a recent letter sent by President Macron to the President of the European Commission. In the letter, Macron called for the implementation of an EU-wide social media restriction for under-15s to safeguard young people from digital risks.
The European Commission is the executive arm of the European Union, responsible for proposing legislation and enforcing EU rules across member states. European policymakers have increasingly scrutinized major social media platforms over algorithmic safety, mental health impacts and age verification standards for children.
