Merz hands Trump a German football shirt with number 47 as G7 leaders gather in Évian to tackle Ukraine and Iran
The German chancellor gave the US president a belated 80th-birthday present before the first working session on Ukraine, as the Évian summit attempts to turn a warm welcome into diplomatic progress.
The birthday gift
Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz opened the G7's first working session on Tuesday with a belated birthday gesture for Donald Trump. He walked over to the US president, who was already seated at the round negotiating table, and handed him a white German national team jersey bearing the name "Trump" and the number 47 (a reference to his status as the 47th president of the United States). The presentation was slightly awkward: Merz unwrapped the shirt from paper, approached Trump, and received a brief handshake before the president turned back to the table. Merz made a second attempt from behind Trump's chair, and the president finally held the shirt up for the cameras, then folded it and placed it beside him on the table.
Belated happy 80th birthday. After all, we play on the same team.
The context for the football-themed gift is the ongoing men's World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, with the final set for 19 July.
Summit atmosphere
Host president Emmanuel Macron opened the gathering on Monday evening at the Hotel Royal in Évian-les-Bains, greeting leaders and their spouses against a backdrop of the French Alps in bright sunshine. Merz arrived with his wife Charlotte; the two couples briefly swapped positions on the raised platform for photographs. The Élysée Palace later posted greeting videos on social media set to music (the German-Moroccan singer Namika's "Lieblingsmensch" for Merz and Tom Petty's "Love is a Long Road" for Trump). French media described the choreography as a deliberate effort to create "feel-good moments." Trump lingered over Brigitte Macron's hand during the welcome, a detail widely noted in coverage.
The working agenda
Beyond the ceremonial optics, the summit has an ambitious programme. Tuesday's first session focussed on Ukraine, with special guest president Volodymyr Zelenskyy seated beside Trump at Macron's table. Western leaders are using the occasion to press Trump for greater engagement in ending the war, now in its fifth year. Previous mediation attempts have stalled. The leaders also aim to spell out the details of the Iran agreement that the US president brought to the table.
- Trump celebrates 80th birthday with 4,000 guests at the White House, including a cage fight.
- Macron welcomes G7 leaders and spouses at Hotel Royal in Évian-les-Bains.
- Merz gifts Trump a Germany national team jersey with number 47 before the first working session.
- First working session on Ukraine, with President Zelenskyy as guest.
The wider backdrop
The summit schedule was shifted to accommodate Trump's lavish 80th-birthday celebration in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, an event that drew around 4,000 guests to watch a cage fight staged in front of the White House (a choice that attracted criticism). No bilateral meeting between Merz and Trump is currently scheduled during the summit, which runs until Wednesday, although Trump has several one-on-one sessions lined up with other heads of government.
