PARIS (AP) - The next summit of the Group of Eight most industrialized nations will take place in the French Alpine resort of Evian-les-Bains, famous for its spas and spring water.
The summit is set for early June 2003, a spokesman in President Jacques Chirac's office said Wednesday. Though the dates are not finalized, the conference will likely be held June 1-2, and probably June 3, he said.
Evian-les-Bains, which hosts many conferences, is a city of 7,500 residents poised between the mountains and Lake Geneva.
"The president chose Evian for its magnificent backdrop and a setting favorable to the reflection of chiefs of state and governments," spokesman Frederic Desagneaux said.
France hopes to capture the relaxed, informal atmosphere of the first Western summit in Rambouillet outside Paris in 1975, and of this year's meeting in an isolated resort in the Canadian Rockies, the spokesman said.
The 2001 G-8 summit in Genoa, Italy was marked by anti-globalization protests and violence. A 23-year-old protester, Carlo Giuliani, was shot dead as he and other demonstrators surrounded a police jeep with sticks, rocks and other weapons.
The latest summit of the world's most powerful nations was held in June in Kananaskis, Alberta, out of reach of protesters. Chirac has informed Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, whose country currently holds the G-8 presidency, of his choice.
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