The ninth Paris Peace Forum opens in Paris on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, bringing world leaders, international organisations, civil society and business representatives to the Palais de Chaillot for two days of talks under the theme “From sovereignty to cooperation”.

The opening session begins at 09:00 at the Chaillot stage, followed by a full day of debates on peace and geopolitics, development, emerging technologies and the planet. The forum runs on 10 and 11 November, with sessions spread across the Palais de Chaillot, the Musée de l'Homme and the Musée de la Marine at the Trocadéro.

A first Child Summit

The centrepiece of this year's forum is its first Child Summit, which places the wellbeing and future of children and adolescents at the heart of the agenda. Heads of state and government, international organisations, civil society organisations and representatives of the public and private sectors will launch three initiatives to support children and adolescents in addressing challenges posed in particular by new technologies and cuts in development aid.

“Making children’s protection, education and well-being a priority means preparing the future of our societies,” said Éléonore Caroit, France's Minister Delegate for Europe and Foreign Affairs, responsible for Francophonie, International Partnerships and French Nationals Abroad, speaking at the official launch of the Child Summit on 24 September. She said France was delighted that, for the first time, a dedicated Child Summit would be hosted as part of the Paris Peace Forum.

Child-focused sessions run throughout Tuesday. They include a roundtable on the next generation of child health, a session on tackling iron deficiency anaemia in children, and a working meeting on children first and the case for investing in children. In the afternoon, a session launches the Action Hub for Children, a platform intended to bring together partners from different sectors to accelerate action for children. The day closes with an invitation-only session, “Children First: A Global Commitment to Child Wellbeing”, from 16:00 to 17:30.

Peace, AI and climate on the agenda

Beyond the Child Summit, Tuesday's programme reflects the forum's broad scope. Morning sessions include “Making Peace Last: Rebuilding Societies After War” and a discussion on peace mediation today, looking at new actors, new coalitions and lasting results. Another session asks what role young people can play in preparing societies and preserving peace.

Technology features heavily, with debates on whether another form of artificial intelligence is possible through North-South cooperation, on guardrails for cyber-capable AI, and on whether AI is narrowing or widening the opportunity gap. A session on climate resilience asks whether cities, science and nature can align, while another looks at what cooperation can still deliver on the climate frontlines.

The forum was launched in 2018 as an annual gathering for actors working on global governance, and its programme is subject to change. This year's edition comes at a time of continued conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East, pressure on development aid budgets, and rapid change in artificial intelligence, all of which feature in the two days of discussions in Paris.