Trump returns to the world stage for the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris

CNN
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Notre-Dame Cathedral will provide a noble backdrop to President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the geopolitical stage on Saturday, when French officials set up an ornate line as part of the five-year project to restore the building, with a reopening ceremony bringing together dozens of world leaders.

Scheduled to return to the White House in just over six weeks, Trump’s arrival in Paris comes at a decisive moment for Western European governments, which – like France itself – are currently caught in a tug-of-war of iron between a wavering liberal party and the democratic order and rising right-wing movements are determined to overthrow it.

French President Emmanuel Macron, now in his second five-year term, invited Trump to attend as he strives to stabilize a failing government at home while retaining influence abroad – more persistently when it comes to the future of Western support for Ukraine against Russia.

Trump has insisted he has a plan to bring immediate peace to the region, even as Ukraine’s allies fear the president-elect will push for a ceasefire or a peace deal seen as more favorable to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has shown little interest in the region. abandoning his war of conquest.

Macron’s success in bringing Trump to Paris – where he and other pro-Ukrainian leaders can make their case in such a bright setting – has earned him increasingly rare praise from the French press, who called it a “diplomatic coup.” (The French president was also the first foreign leader to publicly congratulate Trump on winning a second term last month.) The French embassy announced Friday that Macron would hold successive meetings with Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before the ceremonies, although it remains unclear whether Trump and Zelensky will have direct conversations.

The details of Trump’s visit were discussed for several days, but the president-elect told his team he looked forward to attending. He has a long-standing fascination with the cathedral and even tweeted in distress more than five years ago as a fire ravaged its Gothic building, which sits on Île de la Cité, an island in the Seine in Paris. Its iconic spire and roof were destroyed before the eyes of horrified viewers around the world.

Investigators believe it was an accident, but have not yet identified the direct cause.

“So horrible to see the massive fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris,” Trump job on April 15, 2019, during his first term in the Oval Office. “Maybe flying fuel trucks could be used to put it out.” We must act quickly! »

His suggestion was ignored by the firefighters and Civil Security, answered on social media less than two hours later, warning – in English – that “water bombing planes… could lead to the collapse of the entire structure of the cathedral”.

Trump has long sought the type of high-society recognition now offered to him by Macron and other European leaders worried about the direction of the new administration, but some of his critics – led by late-night comedians – to the States -United were quick to mock this showy spectacle. visit.

“If everything goes as planned, he would like to buy it and turn it into a casino,” Jimmy Kimmel joked earlier this week. Jimmy Fallon joked that the cathedral “is going to catch fire again” when Trump goes inside.

For Macron, the occasion is not fun.

Immediately after the fire, he pledged to rebuild and reopen the destroyed cathedral in five years – a deadline he almost met. There is less room for error, and the stakes are much higher, in his continued efforts to prop up the fragile coalition that supports Ukraine.

His congratulations to the president-elect last month – before most US media outlets had even called the race – alluded to his relationship with Trump the first time he was in the White House, once described as a bromancealthough it didn’t last.

“Congratulations, Mr. President @realDonaldTrump. Ready to work together as we have done for four years,” Macron wrote on X last month. “With your beliefs and mine. With respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity.

Later that evening, he and Trump spoke by telephone, Macron’s office said.

The French president has made a new effort to curry favor with the outgoing president and his allies. CNN reported that Macron plans to invite Trump, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, whom the president-elect has selected for a role in his administration, in Paris for a summit on artificial intelligence in early February.

Trump will not be the only American envoy in Paris on Saturday. First lady Jill Biden is also expected to attend the ceremony, as she completes her final official state trip abroad. However, she is not expected to go to the Élysée or attend high-level meetings.

Saturday’s trip will take place a week later Trump announced his selection of son-in-law Jared Kushner’s father, real estate developer Charles Kushner, to become the next U.S. ambassador to France. Charles Kushner was pardoned by Trump in 2020 after pleading guilty in 2004 to 16 counts of tax evasion, one count of retaliating against a federal witness and another count of lying to the Federal Election Commission.

Macron will not be the first G7 leader to meet in person with Trump since the election. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Florida and had dinner with him at Mar-a-Lago on November 29.

Over dinner, Trump — during a discussion about his proposed tariffs — joked that Canada would avoid any suffering by becoming the 51st U.S. state, two sources with knowledge of the conversation told CNN.

“The president was teasing us,” Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who was seated at the same table, told reporters in Ottawa. “This was of course in no way a serious comment on this issue.”