French President Emmanuel Macron hosted his Nigerian counterpart, President Bola Tinubu, for a working private lunch at the historic Élysée Palace in Paris on Wednesday, September 10, 2025. This significant diplomatic engagement occurred as President Tinubu was on a 10-working-day annual leave, described by his office as a working vacation in Europe.

President Tinubu had departed Abuja on September 4 to commence this period of leave, which is slated to include visits to both France and the United Kingdom before his return to Nigeria. The meeting with President Macron was a key highlight of this European sojourn.

The details of the meeting were made public through various channels. Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, shared photographs from the event via X (formerly Twitter), describing it as a "working private lunch." Onanuga further confirmed the specifics, stating, "President Bola Tinubu, with his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron, during a working private lunch at the Elysee Palace, Paris. Wednesday, September 10, 2025."

Adding to the official confirmations, President Bola Tinubu himself took to his verified X handle, @officialABAT, to comment on the encounter. He declared that he had "a productive lunch with President Emmanuel Macron @EmmanuelMacron today at the Élysée Palace." Furthermore, President Tinubu revealed the substance of their discussions, stating, "We reviewed key areas of cooperation between Nigeria and France and agreed to deepen our partnership for mutual prosperity and global stability." This underscores the strategic importance of the bilateral talks held during the private engagement.

Photos released by the State House captured moments such as both leaders in a warm handshake before proceeding into the palace, reinforcing the cordial nature of the meeting. While the specific agenda of the meeting was not immediately made public beyond the broad areas of cooperation, the interaction served to strengthen the ties between Nigeria and France. This European visit followed President Tinubu's previous foreign trips in August, where he attended the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) in Japan and subsequently held bilateral talks in Brasília, Brazil.