French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed US President-elect Donald Trump to the Elysee Palace in Paris for talks on Saturday, ahead of a ceremony to mark the reopening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral five years after it was ravaged by fire.
The trip to France marks Trump's return to the world stage, still a private citizen but already preparing to tackle a host of international crises. The two men enjoyed a firm handshake and patted each other warmly on the back.
It is Trump's first trip overseas since he won the presidential election a month ago and may offer Macron an early opportunity to play the role of mediator between Europe and the unpredictable US politician, a role the French leader has relished in the past.
Trump told Macron they had enjoyed "really great success" working together during his first term in office.
"And it certainly seems like the world is going a little crazy right now. And we'll be talking about that," Trump continued.
While no agenda for their talks has been announced, European leaders are concerned that Trump could withdraw US military aid to Ukraine at a crucial juncture in its war to repel Russian invaders.
Macron is a strong supporter of the NATO alliance and Ukraine's fight, while Trump feels European nations need to pay more for their common defence and that a negotiated settlement is needed to end the Ukraine war.
"Mr Macron is repeating his personalised approach which had some limited success during Mr Trump's first term. Macron knows Mr Trump greatly appreciates the pomp, circumstance and grandeur of state and he provides it to him in abundance," said Heather Conley, senior adviser to the board of the German Marshall Fund, which promotes US-European ties.
Trump will join dozens of world leaders and foreign dignitaries for the ceremony reopening Notre-Dame Cathedral 5-1/2 years after it was ravaged by fire.
Trump will also meet with Britain's Prince William.
While Trump is due to be sworn in as US president only on Jan 20, he has already held discussions with a number of world leaders, and members of his team are trying to get up to speed on a burgeoning number of world crises, including Ukraine and the Middle East.
Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, met on Wednesday in Washington with Ukraine envoy Andriy Yermak, and the Elysee said Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky would join Trump and Macron at a trilateral meeting in Paris.
Trump, a Republican, was in power when Notre-Dame burned in 2019. He lost his 2020 reelection bid to Democrat Joe Biden but on Nov 5 defeated Kamala Harris, Biden's vice president, to win back the presidency.
"Symbolically, both Mr. Trump's presidency and Notre-Dame have been restored in approximately the same time period. His visit to Paris is also the opening salvo of his return to the world stage, further diminishing the final days of the Biden administration," Conley said.
Biden's wife, first lady Jill Biden, will represent the United States at the Notre-Dame reopening.
GLOBAL SPECTACLE
Trump will get plenty of worldwide buzz standing alongside other world leaders. He visited France four times while president from 2017-2021, including D-Day anniversary ceremonies in 2019.
"Trump will be seen throughout the world in potentially a statesman-like position," said Republican strategist Doug Heye.
"It's not images of him at Mar-a-Lago," Heye said, referring to the Florida home where Trump has spent the bulk of his time since the election. "This is the biggest event of the world and he'll be peer-to-peer with other leaders."
Observers will be watching how Trump and Macron interact.
Macron invited Trump to the Bastille Day military parade in Paris in July 2017, a spectacle that inspired Trump to order up his own military parade in Washington to mark America's Independence Day in 2019.
Trump hosted Macron at a White House state dinner in 2018 but a year later the two quarrelled over comments Macron made about the state of NATO.
"Trump coming to Paris is a 'good coup' by Emmanuel Macron," said Gerard Araud, France's former ambassador to Washington. "It is indispensable to have a direct relationship with the only man who counts in the Trump administration, Trump himself."
Macron, who has just over two years left as president, pursued a non-confrontational approach toward Trump during the latter's first term, hoping that by engaging with him he could win concessions.
But as the years passed, policy decisions on climate, taxation and Iran in particular caused friction between the two leaders. By the end it was a more fractious relationship.
Clashes most likely lie ahead, fuelled by Trump's desire to impose sweeping tariffs on Europe and other US trade partners, and disagreement over how to handle the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
