President-elect Donald Trump began his first foreign trip since his re-election with a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace.
Before the meeting, Macron welcomed Trump, saying: “It is a great honor for the French people to welcome you five years later.”
Macron thanked Trump for his “solidarity” and “immediate action” during his first presidency: “You were president then, the first time, and I remember the solidarity and your immediate action. Welcome back . Thank you. We are very happy to have you here.”
French President Emmanuel Macron greets President-elect Donald Trump before a meeting at the Elysée presidential palace in Paris, December 7, 2024.
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Trump in return celebrated the “great success” the United States and France achieved together in “defense and offense” during his first term and said they would talk about how the world “is becoming a little crazy right now.”
“Thank you very much. Very great honor. And we have had a great relationship. As everyone knows, we have accomplished a lot together,” he said. “And the French are spectacular. I guess they’re one of our biggest groups in the United States, the French, and we respect them and we love them. Very talented people, extremely energetic people, like you know it very well, yeah, and it’s an honor to be here.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined Macron and Trump around 11:34 a.m. Eastern Time. However, he did not make any remarks before the meeting.
French President Emmanuel Macron, President-elect Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pose before a meeting at the Elysée in Paris on December 7, 2024.
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Trump is in France to participate in Notre Dame reopening ceremonies more than five years after a fire severely damaged the cathedral. First lady Jill Biden is also among the representatives from around the world attending the ceremonies.
This meeting comes at a time when the Macron government is going through a political crisis after the resignation of its Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, following a vote of no confidence. Macron, who became president in 2017, has promised he will serve until the end of his term in 2027 despite calls from some to resign.
First Lady Jill Biden listens to President-elect Donald Trump during a ceremony marking the reopening of the iconic Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris, December 7, 2024.
Thibault Camus, Swimming pool via AFP via Getty Images
“We had a great time together and we had great success, very great success, working together on defense and offense as well,” Trump said of U.S.-French relations during his first administration. “And it certainly seems like the world is going a little crazy right now, and we’ll talk about that.”
Trump arrived at the Elysée around 10:41 a.m. and met with Macron outside before entering the building around 10:43 a.m. Eastern Time. He was also due to meet Prince William, Prince of Wales, for the first time since 2019, but their meeting before the Notre Dame ceremony was canceled. They finally met late Saturday evening local time at the British residence in Paris after the conclusion of the Notre-Dame ceremony, with Trump pointing to William and saying, “He’s doing a fantastic job,” before entering a room meeting.
Prince William, the Prince of Wales and US President-elect Donald Trump attend a meeting at the British Embassy as part of ceremonies marking the reopening of Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral, five and a half years after a fire. ravaged the Gothic masterpiece on December 7, 2024, in Paris.
Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters
