Trump swoops into Paris as Europe prepares for a more transactional relationship

Donald Trump met Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris on Saturday for the first time since the US leader’s re-election, in a diplomatic coup for French President Emmanuel Macron.

The trip to France marks Trump’s return to the world stage for the reopening of Notre-Dame cathedral, as Europe braces for the incoming US administration to take a harder, more transactional approach to the transatlantic relationship.

The event, which has attracted some 50 world leaders, comes at a decisive moment for Europe as Trump warns of punitive tariffs and pushes to end the war between Ukraine and Russia quickly. 

Macron sought to discuss pressing issues during the two-day event, meeting with Trump on Saturday afternoon at the Elysée palace before holding talks with Zelenskyy. The three leaders then held a meeting before the reopening service at the cathedral.

“United States, Ukraine, and France. Together on this historic day. Gathered for Notre-Dame. Let us continue our joint efforts for peace and security,” Macron wrote on X above a photo of the three leaders at the Elysée.

Zelenskyy said the trilateral meeting was “good and productive”.

“President Trump is, as always, resolute,” he wrote on X.

“We all want this war to end as soon as possible and in a just way. We spoke about our people, the situation on the ground, and a just peace,” he added.

The Ukrainian leader was applauded by the crowds as he entered Notre-Dame on Saturday night.

With Ukraine heavily dependent on US weapons to fight Russia, Zelenskyy has been lobbying Trump not to abandon their cause or force them to accept unfavourable peace conditions. 

Facilitating the informal meeting is a diplomatic win for Macron, who has been on the retreat domestically since losing legislative elections over the summer and having his handpicked prime minister toppled this week.

“This will be a high-level diplomatic moment to establish connections and also for leaders to try to glean hints of what Trump will do when he takes office,” said Patrick Martin-Genier, an international relations professor at Sciences Po.

European leaders, many of whom feared the return of Trump, have now begun to court him.  

“It seems like the world is going a little crazy right now and we will be talking about that,” Trump said ahead of his one-on-one with Macron. “We had a great relationship as everyone knows. We accomplished a lot.”

The reopening of Notre-Dame is a triumph for Macron, who championed the cause of repairing within five years the cathedral that was nearly destroyed in a fire in 2019. 

Macron hopes to draw on his experience as one of the few European leaders in office during the first Trump term to deal with the unpredictable president-elect.

During Trump’s first term, Macron used flattery and pomp to curry favour with the US president and invited him to the Bastille Day military parade, sparking a shortlived friendship that broke down over American tariffs on French goods such as cognac.

Trump’s entourage on Saturday included multi-billionaire Elon Musk, Steve Witkoff, a special envoy who recently held talks with Israel and Qatar over a ceasefire in Gaza, and Massad Boulos, an adviser responsible for maintaining the US and French brokered ceasefire in Lebanon. He is also the father in law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany.

Trump last week named another family connection to serve as US ambassador to France: Charles Kushner, a real estate developer who is the father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

About 3,000 visitors, including the Prince of Wales and the presidents of Germany and Italy, will be among the first to witness the new bright interiors that have erased any trace of the blaze.

The billionaire donors who contributed more than half of the €800mn restoration budget were also in attendance, such as Bernard Arnault, the head of luxury giant LVMH, and François-Henri Pinault, who runs Gucci-owner Kering.

The gothic masterpiece of Notre-Dame will officially be reopened as a place of worship when the Archbishop of Paris strikes its towering wooden doors and enters in a procession towards the altar.