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.
Ahead of 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 then the president, the first time, and I remember the solidarity and your immediate action. Welcome back again. Thank you. We are very happy to have you here.”
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes President-elect Donald Trump before a meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on December 7, 2024.
Julien De Rosa/AFP via Getty Images
Trump, in turn, celebrated the “great success” the United States and France had together on “defense and offense” in his first term and said they will talk about how the world is “going a little crazy right now.”
“Thank you very much. Very great honor. And we had a good relationship. As everyone knows, we achieved a lot together,” he said. “And the people of France are spectacular. I guess that’s one of our biggest groups in the United States, French people, and we respect them and we love them. Very talented people, extremely energetic people, as you well know, yes, and it’s an honor to be here.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined Macron and Trump around 11:34 a.m. ET. However, he did not make any comments prior to the meeting.
French President Emmanuel Macron, President-elect Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pose before a meeting at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on December 7, 2024.
Sarah Meyssonnier/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Trump is in France to attend the reopening ceremonies for Notre Dame 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.
The meeting comes at a time when Macron’s government is going through a political crisis after his prime minister, Michel Barnier, resigned after facing a vote of no confidence. Macron, who became president in 2017, has vowed to serve until the end of his term in 2027 despite facing calls from some to step down.
“We had a great time together and we had a lot of success, really great success, and we worked together on defense and offense as well,” Trump said of US-France relations in his first administration. “And it certainly seems like the world is going a little crazy right now, and we want to talk about that.”
Trump arrived at the Elysee Palace around 10.41 and met with Macron outside before entering the building at around 10:43 a.m. Eastern Time. He was also due to meet Prince William, the Prince of Wales, for the first time since 2019, but their meeting before the Notre Dame ceremony was cancelled.
