The 37th G8 summit was held on 26–27 May 2011 in Deauville, France.
Previous G8 summits have been hosted by France in locations which include Rambouillet (1975); Versailles (1982); Grande Arche, Paris (1989); Lyon (1996); and Évian-les-Bains (2003).
Overview
The Group of Six (G6) was an unofficial forum which brought together the heads of the richest industrialized countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States starting in 1976. The Group of Seven (G7), meeting for the first time in 1979, was formed with the addition of Canada. Hence, The Group of Eight (G8), meeting for the first time in 1997, was formed with the addition of Russia. In addition, the President of the European Commission has been formally included in summits since 1981. The summits were not meant to be linked formally with wider international institutions; and in fact, a mild rebellion against the stiff formality of other international meetings was a part of the genesis of cooperation between France's president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and West Germany's chancellor Helmut Schmidt as they conceived the initial summit of the Group of Six (G6) in 1975.
The G8 summits have inspired widespread debates, protests and demonstrations; and the two- or three-day event becomes more than the sum of its parts, elevating the participants, the issues and the venue as focal points for activist pressure.
The form and functions of the G8 were reevaluated as the G20 summits evolved into the premier forum for discussing, planning and monitoring international economic cooperation. The "new G8" is refocusing on the subjects of common interest to the G8 countries, including geopolitical and security issues.
The forum continues to be in a process of transformation.
Leaders at the summit
The G8 is an unofficial annual forum for the leaders of Canada, the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The 37th G8 summit was the last summit for French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Dmitry Medvedev as President of Russia (Medvedev would return to the 38th G8 summit the following year as Prime Minister of Russia, leading Russian delegates in place for the newly elected President Vladimir Putin).
Participants
These summit participants represent the current core members of the international forum:
Priorities
Traditionally, the host country of the G8 summit sets the agenda for negotiations, but world events caused the list of topics to expand, including such issues such as the Fukushima nuclear accident, the European sovereign debt crisis, the conflict in Libya, Iran's nuclear programme, Syria's crackdown on pro-democracy protests, and the selection of a new managing director for the International Monetary Fund.
Issues
The summit is a venue for resolving differences among its members. As a practical matter, the summit was also conceived as an opportunity for its members to give each other mutual encouragement in the face of difficult economic decisions. The G8 has become a forum for political and strategic discussions, and as a caucus within the G20.
Schedule and Agenda
The agenda for the summit included some issues which remained unresolved from previous summits. French general priorities included: New common challenges: the Internet, innovation, green growth and a sustainable economy, and nuclear safety The 'Arab Springs': a partnership for democracy Strengthening the partnership with Africa: a long-term vision Peace and security: traditional themes of the G8
Some of the specific topics on the agenda were: Afghanistan; G8 + Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA); The Internet: new challenges Non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction The G8's Partnership with Africa Transatlantic Cocaine Trafficking Counter-terrorism G8 political and security issues
Citizens' responses and authorities' counter-responses
Protest groups and other activists were expected to make a showing at the summit. The slogan G8 dégage ("G8 Go Away") was a recurring element of the demonstrations.
Protesters expressed their concerns about capitalism and what they perceive as the imperialism of western liberal democracies. The demonstrators are widely understood to be against globalisation.