Notre Dame opening: Trump expected in Paris: first trip abroad since election victory

A month and a half before his inauguration, US President-elect Donald Trump is making his first trip abroad since winning the election this weekend, visiting France. At the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump is expected to attend the ceremonial reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on Saturday evening. Macron and Trump want to meet in the Élysée Palace for a bilateral discussion in the afternoon, as the French side announced. Afterwards, Macron also wants to receive Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky there.

The political conversations

Trump’s presence at the Notre Dame ceremony and the political conversations on the sidelines are likely to attract a lot of attention. Whether trade, climate protection or security: In Europe we know very well how dramatically Trump can change transatlantic relations. What’s more, the visit coincides with a domestic political crisis in France, which is putting Macron under considerable pressure. It is unclear whether Trump will use the visit to Paris for separate meetings with other heads of state and government. It would be conceivable that he and Macron would sit down together with Zelensky.

During the presidential election campaign, Trump repeatedly claimed that he could end the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine within 24 hours – also thanks to his good contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He even boasted at a rally that he could resolve the conflict even before he took office. How – he didn’t say that. During the election campaign, Trump signaled that if he were re-elected, he would drastically reduce or completely stop the USA’s support with military equipment for Ukraine. But does he follow his words with actions?

The Notre Dame celebrations

On January 20th, Trump will be sworn in as president and will take over from Joe Biden. The Democrat is not expected at the Notre Dame reopening – but his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, is. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Great Britain’s heir to the throne Prince William, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and a number of heads of state and government from other countries will also be at the opening ceremony on Saturday evening – including the kings of Morocco and Jordan, Mohammed VI. and Abdullah II.

The cathedral was badly damaged in a fire five years ago and has since been renovated. For Macron, the reopening of the Paris landmark is a highlight of his seven-year term in office. When the president promised to rebuild Notre Dame within five years after the fire, many thought it was impossible. Macron is likely to see receiving the future US president at the nationally important reopening celebration as a special coup.

The political crisis in France

But Trump is now arriving in France in the midst of a political crisis that is also putting Macron in trouble. In the dispute over an austerity budget, the opposition overthrew the center-right government of the previous Prime Minister Michel Barnier on Wednesday evening. Since then, parts of the opposition have also been calling for Macron’s resignation. Now the president wants to quickly install a new prime minister who will have to put together a new government with the quarreling camps in parliament.

During Trump’s first term in office, Macron made a noticeable effort to maintain a good relationship with the Republican – despite all the political differences. The Frenchman publicly presented himself as a strong European counterpart to probably the most powerful man in the world. Even after his re-election, Macron is now at the forefront when it comes to getting along well with Trump.

Since his victory in the presidential election at the beginning of November, heads of state and government from all over the world have been trying to rebuild contact with Trump after he caused major foreign policy upheavals in his first term in office. Top representatives from some countries – such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – also made a personal appearance at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in the US state of Florida.