Paris, France - Sept 9, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. People at venue of inaugural International Space Summit at Grand Palais
2. Backdrop
3. Attendees
4. Rocket on show
5. Various of attendees; meeting in progress

Paris, France - Sept 10, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jean-François Clervoy, former French astronaut, also veteran engineer with French space agency CNES and European Space Agency (ESA):
"Every European astronaut dreams of having their own spaceship flown onboard their own European rocket to our own European station in orbit. But it's a dream."

Paris, France - Sept 9, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
7. Various of panel discussion in progress

Paris, France - Sept 10, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
8. Various of attendees
9. Arm badges
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Matthias Maurer, astronaut, European Space Agency (ESA) (starting with shots 8-9):
"Some countries have different opinions [on] who should come, who should not come. Space is also a political domain. We see it now that there are conflicts on planet Earth in space. We are all working peacefully together, and we, as astronauts, when we look down on planet Earth, we wish also that the people on planet Earth would behave like astronauts in space, working together to achieve the greater good."

Paris, France - Sept 9, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
11. Various of exhibits

Europe's push for greater space autonomy took center stage at the first International Space Summit in Paris, which closed Thursday.

Discussions on how to reduce external dependence and build up the continent's own space capabilities loomed as large as international cooperation.

Europe's crewed spaceflight has relied on partnerships with other countries for decades. Its spacemen have hitched rides on Russian Soyuz capsules and U.S. space shuttles, yet Europe has never sent a crew into orbit on its own.

That reliance has long fueled a dream within Europe's space community of an autonomous crewed spaceflight capability.

"Every European astronaut dreams of having their own spaceship flown onboard, their own European rocket to our own European station in orbit. But it's a dream," said Jean-François Clervoy, a former French astronaut and veteran engineer with the French space agency CNES and European Space Agency (ESA).

French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the summit. He said Europe's space sector remains fragile and needs stronger capabilities, throwing his weight behind a European crewed spaceflight program and calling on the continent to strengthen its presence in space.

Absent from the summit were major U.S. space firms including SpaceX and Blue Origin, a snub that laid bare widening transatlantic rifts over space rules, industry and market competition.

"Some countries have different opinions [on] who should come, who should not come. Space is also a political domain. We see it now that there are conflicts on planet Earth in space. We are all working peacefully together, and we, as astronauts, when we look down on planet Earth, we wish also that the people on planet Earth would behave like astronauts in space, working together to achieve the greater good," said Matthias Maurer, an ESA astronaut. "