'Hey Joe!' Leaders josh around at G20 summit

When world leaders finally got together for the G20 summit in Rome after over two years apart, the mood was festive, with formalities temporarily ditched in favour of fist-pumping and football quips.

"It is great to see all of you here, after a difficult few years for the global community. The pandemic has kept us apart – as it did with all our citizens," Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi said Saturday in opening the two days of high-level talks.

Tempers could easily have frayed: ahead of the summit French President Emmanuel Macron had seriously fallen out with the US over a submarine deal, while tensions were escalating with the UK over fishing rights.

But Britain's Boris Johnson gave Macron a mock-combative fist pump as he showed up -- late -- for the group picture.

The Briton kept it informal with US President Joe Biden too, quipping "Hey Joe!" as he took his place.

In a first for a G20 "family photo", the leaders were joined by medics, firefighters and other front-line workers who saved lives during the coronavirus pandemic.

A White House official said the US and France had patched things up with the administration expecting future conversations to be "exciting and engaging". 

Biden's wife Jill and Macron's wife Brigitte even grabbed a glass of wine together Friday, with Jill declaring they were "like sisters".

"I love Italy, Brigitte loves Italy. Who would not love Italy?" she said as they laughed together.