A poorly coordinated event may become another Macron failure.
As we previously reported here on TGP, French President Emmanuel Macron’s failing international space summit is NOT going according to plan, with industry leaders like SpaceX and Blue Origin canceling their participation.
Yesterday, the French tried to downplay the American firms’ decision, but reports say the summit is a ‘poorly coordinated event with an unclear outcome’.
Trying to make sense of what happened this week with the White House, France’s Space Summit, and prominent US space companies.https://t.co/vgyZgCV67V
— Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) September 4, 2026
Politico reported:
“The U.S. snub is only one of several challenges facing the gathering on Wednesday and Thursday in the French capital. About 120 international delegations have been invited, with Chinese officials expected to attend.
[…] ‘It’s falling behind schedule, it hasn’t really been coordinated with the major players in the European space sector, and it’s not entirely clear what its purpose is’, said a senior space expert involved in the summit’s preparation. ‘And now that the White House has effectively decided to use it against Emmanuel Macron, it’s becoming even more awkward — it shows that, from a diplomatic standpoint, they didn’t do what they should have done’, they added.”
The summit aims to discuss ‘regulation of space activities, competitiveness, security and defense, and space exploration’.
“Macron is keen to ensure that France and Europe remain credible space powers, with an independent launch capability and their own global satellite communications system, in an effort to reduce dependence on U.S. technology.
’If certain countries or actors don’t want to participate, in a way, that’s their loss’, an Elysée official told reporters on Friday. ‘There are American companies participating, and there will be announcements. We are not seeing a trend where the U.S. is turning its back on Europe at this space summit’, said another Elysée official.”
Experts have said that the Summit has no clear goals other than ‘showcase France’.
It aims to issue declarations on sharing of space data, radio satellite frequencies and space debris management.
But who, it is wondered, will sign these?
Some say it’s the worst-managed Macron event ever – which is saying a lot.
Read more:
NEW: SpaceX and Blue Origin Pull Out of Emptied Paris Space Summit
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