Located 50 km southwest of Paris, Rambouillet, Yvelines County is famous for the Rambouillet Castle, a fortress built in the 14th century. This castle, where François I died in 1547, used to be owned by Louis XVI and by Napoleon I, and was the summer residence for the French President until 2009. In 1975 the first Summit of the developed countries (G6) was held there.

The meeting was held soon after the oil crisis of 1973 and the subsequent global economic stagnation. The core G 6 members then were Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, President of France; Helmut Schmidt, Prime Minister of West Germany; Aldo Moro, Prime Minister of Italy; Takeo Miki, Prime Minister of Japan; Harold Wilson, Prime Minister of the UK; and Gerald Ford, President of the US.

In the meantime, Mr. Ian Bremmer, President and Founder of the Eurasian group, said in a paper written in 2016 that "the global order that prevailed since the end of the Second World War has hit its limits. A breakdown in longstanding domestic, regional, and international political equilibria is making policymakers both less able and less willing to collaborate internationally. The result: a G-Zero world characterized by a growing vacuum in global governance." (https://www.eurasiagroup.net/siteFiles/Issues/After_The_G_Zero_.pdf)

Le château de Rambouillet is one of my favourite destinations for cycling and I often go there. You will arrive in Versailles after passing through 3 hills from Paris. From there, it will be countryside. 2 further uphill slopes, 2 downhill slopes, and you will arrive at the village of Dampierre. From there on, it is almost flat. You will continue to cycle about 15 km, then you will arrive in Rambouillet. Whenever I come to Rambouillet, I always imagine what the six leaders had on their minds when they were here for the first summit meeting of developed countries (G6) in 1975.