Taoiseach Bertie Ahern meets French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris today.
"I am looking forward to meeting with President Sarkozy in Paris today as this is the first opportunity that we have had to meet bilaterally since his election last May," Mr Ahern said.
Discussions between the two leaders will also cover the reform treaty, the future of Europe and international issues such as Kosovo, the Middle East and Darfur.
Following the meeting, the Taoiseach and Mr Sarkozy will attend the Ireland-France rugby match. Mr Ahern will also visit the Irish Embassy on Saturday to meet visitors at an open day.
The trip ends with a visit to the College des Irlandais, home to the Irish Cultural Centre in Paris, where the Taoiseach will attend the reopening of the refurbished Old Library.
The trip will offer Mr Ahern some respite after he faced further grilling at the Mahon tribunal into planning corruption over his complex finances. He is due to be questioned for a fourth time next week.
Minster for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheal Martin will also attend tonight's game as part of a three-day Enterprise Ireland networking visit.
He and his officials will be meeting representatives of French firms such as Aerospace, SAP and France Telecom.
Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Seamus Brennan is in Paris today to attend a luncheon with tourism industry officials at the Irish College and will later hold talks with the French Travel Association.
Minister for Food and Horticulture Trevor Sargent will host a trade reception on behalf of Bord Bia for key French buyers of Irish food produce today.