Visit to France: Trump’s return to the world stage – Ukraine meeting in Paris

A few weeks before his inauguration, US President-elect Donald Trump returned to the world stage with a visit to France. French President Emmanuel Macron received the Republican at the Élysée Palace in Paris for bilateral talks. The two then met there with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to talk about the future of the country attacked by Russia.

In the evening, at Macron’s invitation, Trump wanted to take part in the ceremonial reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral. It is his first trip abroad since winning the US presidential election in early November. On January 20th, Trump will be sworn in as president.

Red carpet before the inauguration

His visit to Paris coincides with a domestic political crisis in France, which is also putting Macron under considerable pressure. The French president rolled out the red carpet for the Republican and received him with some pomp at his official residence – which is unusual for a meeting with a colleague who has not yet been sworn in. The two shook hands several times when greeting each other, hugged each other and posed for photos.

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.

He told Macron that he was very happy to have Trump as a guest in Paris. Trump praised the relationship with France in his first years in office. “We had a good time together, and we had a lot of success, really great success,” the Republican said. “It seems like the world is going a little crazy at the moment and we’ll talk about that,” he added.

One of the crises is the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. Trump now used his visit to Paris to start discussions about the conflict before his inauguration.

There is great fear in Ukraine that Trump, after being sworn in, could drastically reduce US military aid to the country attacked by Russia, thus causing a defeat for Kiev. The United States is still Ukraine’s most important supporter and largest arms supplier. There are also fears in many EU states that Trump could enforce an unbalanced ceasefire agreement that could effectively make Russia and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin appear to be the victors of the war of aggression.

Trump regularly boasts about his good contacts with Putin. During the election campaign, he repeatedly claimed that he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours, if possible before he took office. How – he didn’t say that.

The Notre Dame celebrations

Trump also wanted to meet with the British heir to the throne, Prince William, in Paris on the sidelines of the Notre Dame opening. It was initially unclear whether Trump could use the visit for separate meetings with other visiting heads of state and government. The current US President Joe Biden was not expected at the Notre Dame reopening – but his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, was instead. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Prince William, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as well as 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 arrived in France in the middle 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.