It was in the pretty French resort town of Biarritz on the Atlantic coast that world leaders descended for the 45th G7 Summit in the fourth week of August. Among the nine specially invited guest nations was India, represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The G7 group includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, USA, and the EU. The invited nations apart from India were Australia, Burkina Faso, Chile, Egypt, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Spain.

The venue was the Hotel du Palais, a place humming with history, and in the modern day context the pièce de résistance of the Atlantic coastal town. It was in this quaint retreat town that French poet Victor Hugo commented, “I haven’t seen any place more pleasant than Biarritz…” Since those mid-19th century days, however, Biarritz has turned more business-like.