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Davos 2026 Opens With Record Attendance as Trump and Macron Set for Dueling Economic Visions

The forum warns that geoeconomic confrontation is the leading near-term global risk.

Overview

  • Roughly 3,000 participants from about 130 countries are gathering, including 64 heads of state and around 850 business leaders, for the 56th World Economic Forum.
  • The week is framed as a contest between a nationalist, power-first approach and a cooperative, rules-based model, with scheduled speeches by Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday and Donald Trump on Wednesday.
  • President Donald Trump is due to address the forum in person with a record-sized U.S. delegation, drawing outsized attention after a year of more unilateral trade measures.
  • Swiss authorities have reinforced security in Davos with police, army units and the U.S. Secret Service, as the forum convenes under the cloud of founder Klaus Schwab’s resignation last year.
  • Environmental groups renew criticism of the summit’s carbon footprint, citing about 700 additional private jet flights around Davos during the 2025 gathering according to Greenpeace.