Trump arrives in Paris on second Europe trip in a week
Paris (CNN)US President Donald Trump has arrived in Europe for the second time in a week, a trip meant as a pomp-filled celebration of transatlantic ties at a time of anxiety on both continents.
Air Force One landed at Paris Orly airport, south of the city center, early Thursday morning. From there, Trump's due to take meetings at the American ambassador's residence before being greeted in a formal welcoming ceremony by his host, French President Emmanuel Macron.
The trip may provide Trump at least a short interlude from the political crisis swirling back home around a meeting between his son, Donald Trump Jr., and a Russian lawyer during last year's presidential campaign.
TRUMP JR. RUSSIA CONTROVERSY
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Later Thursday, the American leader will tour Napoleon's tomb at the Les Invalides before sitting down for extended security talks with Macron at the Élysée Palace. The pair will then take questions from reporters in the evening, and dine with their wives in a Michelin-starred restaurant on the second landing of the Eiffel Tower.
Low profile since G20
Trump himself has remained out of sight since returning late Saturday from Hamburg, where he attended a high-stakes Group of 20 summit and met with several foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Macron, who was elected decisively in May and bolstered by legislative successes for his new political party, views himself as a bridge between Europe and the United States, his advisers have said. Rather than isolate Trump, Macron hopes to keep the US leader within the fold of other western democracies.
Macron appears uniquely positioned to assume the role of Europe's primary interlocutor with Trump. Unlike German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who faces reelection in September, or British Prime Minister Theresa May, who was dealt a political blow in last month's snap election, Macron is unencumbered by looming political baggage that would distract from a close relationship with the US president.
But while both men exude alpha-male tendencies, their differences are readily apparent. At 39, Macron is the youngest French president in modern times; the 71-year-old Trump is the oldest elected US president in history.
Macron: Trump handshake was moment of truth 00:46
Trump offered tacit backing to Macron's rival in this year's presidential contest, the hard-right candidate Marine Le Pen. Meanwhile, Trump's predecessor Barack Obama endorsed Macron.
And their first meeting was marked by aggressive body language: Macron gripping Trump's hand for an extended shake, their eyes locking as cameras clicked away.
Macron later said the aggression was intentional, but at last week's G20 summit in Germany the two men appeared far more relaxed. The French leader seemed intent on standing next to Trump during group photos, a reminder of his self-assigned role as Trump's European contact point.
Macron is eager to develop close security ties with Trump, but in other areas he's already emerged as a vocal critic, most notably over Trump's withdrawal from the climate accord that bears the French capital's name.
Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump stands with Putin and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, left, at the G20 summit. Climate change, terrorism and migration are on the agenda.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump greets Putin as the G20 summit gets underway in Hamburg.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Macron, Merkel and Trump confer at the start of the first working session of the G20 summit.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump meets with Merkel on the eve of the summit.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump reaffirms US support for NATO in a speech he gave in Warsaw, Poland, on Thursday, July 6. Trump spent a day in Poland before heading to Germany.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
People hold up pictures of Trump during his speech in Warsaw.
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Trump joins world leaders from the Three Seas Initiative, an alliance of Eastern European countries, at the Royal Castle in Warsaw on July 6.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump holds a joint news conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda on July 6.
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First ladies Melania Trump and Agata Kornhauser-Duda play with children as they visit the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw on July 6.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Duda and Trump meet at the Royal Castle in Warsaw on July 6.
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The Trumps step off Air Force One upon their arrival in Poland on Wednesday, July 5.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
President Donald Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit on Saturday, July 8, in Hamburg, Germany.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump shares a laugh with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a women's entrepreneurship finance event July 8 at the G20.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Ivanka Trump and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are on hand as the President arrives for the G20's morning working session on July 8.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Trump chat before the morning working session July 8.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump attends a banquet after a concert of the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra on Friday, July 7, as part of the events at the two-day summit.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Germany's Merkel, center, right, hosts the banquet. At top right, Russian President Vladimir Putin sits next to US first lady Melania Trump. Donald Trump, bottom, left, across from Chinese President Xi Jinping.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
The Trumps join French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, at the Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg on July 7.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump joins world leaders and their partners as they pose for photos before the concert.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump shakes hands with Putin as they meet on the sidelines of the summit. They talked for more than two hours, discussing interference in US elections and ending with an agreement on curbing violence in Syria.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
World leaders gather for a photo at the summit. The G20, which includes 19 countries and the European Union, accounts for about 80% of the world's gross domestic product.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump stands with Putin and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, left, at the G20 summit. Climate change, terrorism and migration are on the agenda.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump greets Putin as the G20 summit gets underway in Hamburg.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Macron, Merkel and Trump confer at the start of the first working session of the G20 summit.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump meets with Merkel on the eve of the summit.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump reaffirms US support for NATO in a speech he gave in Warsaw, Poland, on Thursday, July 6. Trump spent a day in Poland before heading to Germany.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
People hold up pictures of Trump during his speech in Warsaw.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump joins world leaders from the Three Seas Initiative, an alliance of Eastern European countries, at the Royal Castle in Warsaw on July 6.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump holds a joint news conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda on July 6.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
First ladies Melania Trump and Agata Kornhauser-Duda play with children as they visit the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw on July 6.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Duda and Trump meet at the Royal Castle in Warsaw on July 6.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
The Trumps step off Air Force One upon their arrival in Poland on Wednesday, July 5.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
President Donald Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit on Saturday, July 8, in Hamburg, Germany.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump shares a laugh with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a women's entrepreneurship finance event July 8 at the G20.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Ivanka Trump and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are on hand as the President arrives for the G20's morning working session on July 8.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Trump chat before the morning working session July 8.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump attends a banquet after a concert of the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra on Friday, July 7, as part of the events at the two-day summit.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Germany's Merkel, center, right, hosts the banquet. At top right, Russian President Vladimir Putin sits next to US first lady Melania Trump. Donald Trump, bottom, left, across from Chinese President Xi Jinping.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
The Trumps join French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, at the Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg on July 7.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump joins world leaders and their partners as they pose for photos before the concert.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump shakes hands with Putin as they meet on the sidelines of the summit. They talked for more than two hours, discussing interference in US elections and ending with an agreement on curbing violence in Syria.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
World leaders gather for a photo at the summit. The G20, which includes 19 countries and the European Union, accounts for about 80% of the world's gross domestic product.
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Photos: Trump at G20 summit
Trump stands with Putin and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, left, at the G20 summit. Climate change, terrorism and migration are on the agenda.
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Following the announcement, Macron adopted an aggressive stance, telling climate scientists they were welcome in France and mocking Trump's campaign slogan to urge the world to "make the planet great again."
A COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP
- The tense Macron-Trump handshake
- France taunts US on climate
- What they stand to gain from Paris visit
- Trump and Macron: friends or foes?
- Why Macron is the anti-Trump
He's also taken a harder line on Russia, chastising Putin during a joint appearance at Versailles last month over Russian propaganda efforts and LGBT rights.
Trump's stop in Paris is designed to mark the 100th anniversary of the United States' entry into World War I, and the security theme will carry over in talks between the leaders, which the White House said would center on Syria and counterterrorism efforts.
Macron hopes to demonstrate to Trump the willingness of France to play a broader role in global security affairs. The country is the second largest contributor to the US-led anti-ISIS coalition, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and a key actor in counterterrorism efforts in northern Africa.
Nations marching side-by-side
On Friday, Trump will be the guest of honor at a military parade marking Bastille Day, the national holiday that commemorates the start of the French Revolution.
American troops will march alongside French personnel down the Champs-Élysées. The march will give Trump a view of France's military hardware, but also point to the long history of cooperation between the two countries. The White House said American troops would participate this year, and that three veterans of the 1944 Normandy invasion would also be on hand.
While last week's G20 in Germany was marked by widespread violent protests, the French are not expected to stage large scale demonstrations during Trump's visit here. The security posture has nonetheless been elevated, with 11,000 police and gendarmes deployed on the streets during Trump's visit.
It's an extension of the current state of emergency in France, first put in place after terrorist attacks here in November 2015. Trump has decried the security situation in Paris, lamenting that "Paris isn't Paris any longer" -- and suggesting the city had been overrun by extremists.
A senior administration official downplayed those past remarks ahead of Trump's visit, saying instead that Trump held the city in high regard.
"From everything that I've seen and everything that I've heard, the President has got very positive feelings about the city of Paris, and the people who live in Paris, and the French nation more generally," the official said
News Courtesy: www.cnn.com
