French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Donald Trump to Paris on Saturday with a full dose of presidential pomp as the two held a hastily arranged meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy before celebrating the grand reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral.
On a day that mixed pageantry with attention to pressing global problems, the once and future American president was warmly embraced by Macron upon arriving at the Elysee Palace.
“It’s a great honor for French people to welcome you five years later,” Macron told Trump. “Welcome back again.”
Trump said it was a “very great honor” to be there, while hinting at challenges ahead.
“It certainly seems like the world is going a little crazy right now. And we’ll be talking about that,” Trump said.
An actual red carpet was rolled out for Trump as Macron bestowed the kind of full diplomatic welcome that France offers sitting American presidents, complete with trumpets blaring and members of the Republican Guard in full uniform. It was a clear sign that even though Trump doesn’t take office until Jan. 20, 2025, Macron and other European leaders are already working to win his favor and treating him as America’s representative on the world stage.
President Joe Biden declined an invitation to attend the Notre Dame ceremony, five years after a devastating fire, with the White House citing a scheduling conflict. First lady Jill Biden was the official U.S. representative in his place.
Macron and leaders across Europe are trying to persuade the president-elect to maintain support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion. Macron’s office said the war, along with conflicts in the Mideast, would be discussed.
As Trump arrived at the official residence of the French president, Macron went out of his way to project an image of close ties, offering handshakes and plenty of back-patting for the cameras.
In a video posted later on X, Macron could be heard asking Trump: “You remember?” as both men entered a reception room.
“I remember,” Trump answered.
Trump spent about 90 minutes inside, meeting first with Macron before they were joined by Zelenskyy for about 35 minutes.
Macron had long planned to meet separately with Zelenskyy. The French president’s office said the three-way talks were proposed by Macron and arranged shortly before Trump’s arrival. Trump has pledged to end the war in Ukraine swiftly but has not specified how, raising concerns in Kyiv about what terms may be laid out for any future negotiations.
A person familiar with Trump’s plans had said before the meeting was announced that while Trump and Zelenskyy were attending the cathedral ceremony and surrounding events and probably would interact, Trump’s transition team had not worked with the Ukrainians to schedule formal talks.
After the place meeting, a Trump senior transition official did not push back on the idea that it had come together at the last minute, but said it had been “discussed fully and agreed to” and that Trump had been “fully briefed” ahead of time.
The three leaders spoke in English, and translator was in the room, according to a French official.
Accompanying Trump to Paris was a small contingent of advisers that included incoming chief of staff Susie Wiles, along with Steve Witkoff, a longtime friend and real estate investor whom Trump has tapped as his special envoy to the Middle East, and Massad Boulos, who is the father-in-law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany and will serve as senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.
The group did not appear to include anyone with expertise on Ukraine.
“United States, Ukraine and France. Together on this historic day. United for Notre-Dame. Let’s continue to work together for peace and security,” Macron wrote on X afterward.
Trump’s victory last month threw into doubt the Biden administration’s flow of money and arms to Ukraine — aid bolstered even more on Saturday by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s announcement of a $988 million package that brings American military support to more than $62 billion since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Trump has characterized Zelenskyy as “the greatest salesman on Earth” for winning billions in U.S. aid. Trump also has said he work out a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine within a day of taking office and has promoted his good relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In an effort to build trust with the incoming U.S. administration, Zelenskyy’s top aide Andriy Yermak met key members of Trump’s team on a two-day trip to the U.S. earlier this week.
Macron has argued that Ukraine’s defeat or a cease-fire with Russia on unfavorable terms to Ukraine would be viewed as a loss for the U.S. and even Trump himself, according to two European officials familiar with the matter.
After arriving at Notre Dame for the ceremony, Trump was greeted by Macron and his wife, Brigitte. He was given prime seating at the service right between them — a better location than Jill Biden, who sat on Brigitte Macron’s other side — and many current heads of government and state.
Inside, Trump also greeted Zelenskyy as well as Britain’s Prince William, who Trump met with later at the British ambassador’s residence in Paris. Trump was greeted in the foyer, shook the royal’s hand and said “good man, this one.”
Trump told reporters the Prince of Wales was doing “a fantastic job” before the two went to sit down and talk in a private room reserved for high-profile figures in the residence that once was the Paris town home of Princess Pauline Borghese, the youngest sister French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.
Prince William was also scheduled to meet separately with Jill Biden, according to the British royal palace.
Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and X who has spent considerable time with Trump since the election and spent millions to elect him, was also in attendance at Notre Dame.
Macron, who has had an up-and-down relationship with Trump, has made a point of cultivating their bond since the Republican defeated Democrat Kamala Harris. But Macron’s office nonetheless played down the significance of the invitation, saying other politicians not now in office had been invited as well.
Trump was invited as president-elect of a “friendly nation,” Macron’s office said, adding, “This is in no way exceptional, we’ve done it before.”
Trump is known to revel in pomp and circumstance. One of his first trips as president his first term was to Paris, where Macron made him the the guest of honor at Bastille Day events. Trump later said he wanted to replicate the grand military parade back in the United States.
Relations between France and the U.S. during Trump’s first term began warmly enough but grew increasingly strained over time.
Macron was the guest of honor at Trump’s first state dinner, and Trump traveled to France several times. But the relationship suffered after Macron criticized Trump for questioning the need for NATO and raising doubts about America’s commitment to the mutual defense pact.
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump often mocked Macron, imitating his accent and threatening to impose steep tariffs on wine and champagne bottles shipped to the U.S. if France tried to tax American companies.
But Macron was one of the first global leaders to congratulate Trump last month after the election.
When he accepted the invitation to travel to Paris, Trump said Macron had done “a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so. It will be a very special day for all!” Trump was president in 2019, when a fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old landmark.
