US President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday said that the world was “a little crazy” as he met President Emmanuel Macron in Paris ahead of the re-opening of Notre Dame cathedral on his first international trip since his re-election.
The two men embraced and shook hands several times on the steps of the French presidential palace, with Trump given a full guard of honour.
“It seems like the world is going a little crazy right now and we will be talking about that,” Trump told reporters as he prepared to sit down for talks with Macron which started around 45 minutes later than scheduled.
Despite tensions between the two men during his first term, Trump hailed his ties with the centrist French leader, saying: “We had a great relationship as everyone knows. We accomplished a lot.”
Macron told Trump it was “a great honour for French people to welcome you” for the re-opening ceremony at Notre Dame, which was devastated by a blaze in 2019 during Trump’s first term.
“You were president at that time and I remember the solidarity and the immediate reaction,” Macron added, speaking in English.
When he first took office in 2017, Trump’s ties with Macron — then also a fresh face on the world stage — began warmly despite their obvious political differences.
Their long and muscular handshakes — which saw each man seek to assert his superiority — became a light-hearted focus of attention before ties cooled, then soured, following disputes about climate change, trade and defence.
They are expected to discuss the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as trade.
Trump’s return to power has rung alarm alarms in Paris and many European capitals after his promises on the campaign trail to force an end to fighting in Ukraine which could see US military assistance to Kyiv withheld.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was expected at the French presidential palace shortly after Trump and he is set to hold three-way discussions with Macron, an aide to Macron told AFP on condition of anonymity.
sjw/adp/jm
