During the meeting, Jean Todt presented the FIA Action for Road Safety initiative and received the support of the French President for the actions led by the FIA in that field.

One of the first topics of discussion was the global #3500LIVES campaign, launched in March 2017 in partnership with outdoor advertising giant JCDecaux. Displayed in more than 900 cities in over 75 countries (including France), the campaign encourages safer behaviour of all road users by raising awareness of the FIA's Golden Rules for safer motoring. Jean Todt highlighted with President Macron that the Rules are an essential element for tackling the number of deaths on the road.

The FIA President also spoke of the achievements of the FIA High Level Panel for Road Safety (HLP). The Panel brings together an unprecedented coalition of leaders from the global business community, international institutions and NGOs, with the primary objective to raise awareness and funding for road safety actions, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

The Panel has been instrumental in calling for the establishment of a UN Road Safety Trust Fund, which has recently received the support of the UN Secretary General. Talking about this development, Jean Todt underlined the leading role France can play to encourage other regions of the world to further engage in the fight for safer roads.

The meeting was also the occasion to talk about France’s dynamic motor sport culture. They discussed the strong presence of French drivers on the world stage, including Sébastien Ogier, who has just won his fifth World title along with his co-driver Julien Ingrassia, and French talents in the FIA Formula One World Championship such as Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly and Romain Grosjean.

In 2018, Paris will welcome the Formula E championship for the third consecutive year, and F1 will return to France in June at Le Castellet after 10 years of absence. This further substantiates France’s strong motor sport culture built on the success of well-known events such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Tour de Corse.