President-elect Donald J. Trump will travel to France on Saturday for the reopening of the historic Notre-Dame Cathedral five years after it was ravaged by a fire, his first foreign trip since last month’s election and a symbol of how quickly global leaders are turning the page on the Biden presidency.
Mr. Trump announced the trip on his online platform, Truth Social, calling it “an honor” to make public his plans to visit the “Magnificent and Historic” building. He credited President Emmanuel Macron of France with doing “a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so.”
“It will be a very special day for all!” he wrote.
The trip has been in the works for several days, according to people briefed on the planning. Mr. Trump and Mr. Macron have had at least one phone conversation, according to one of the people.
President Biden is not expected to attend the reopening, but Dr. Jill Biden, the first lady, will be there, according to one of the people briefed.
Mr. Trump has rarely left Mar-a-Lago, his private club and home in Palm Beach, Fla., since he won a second term by defeating Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced President Biden on the Democratic ticket.
The news of the trip was in some ways unsurprising. Mr. Trump loves ceremony and grandeur as it relates to construction sites, especially historic ones. And it marks his return to the world stage.
But it is also the latest chapter in what has been a fraught relationship with European allies — and with Mr. Macron in particular.
The French leader, who is facing domestic turbulence after a wave of anger from far-right and far-left forces, flattered Mr. Trump early in his first term as U.S. president. Mr. Macron invited Mr. Trump to attend the country’s Bastille Day celebration in Paris in 2017, and Mr. Trump went eagerly.
But the relationship soured in 2018, when Mr. Macron endorsed the idea of a true European military defense, one that could counter Russia and China but also the United States. Mr. Macron’s approach chafed against Mr. Trump’s nationalism, at a time when far-right populists generally aligned with Trump were ascending in France and elsewhere in Europe.
When the F.B.I. searched Mar-a-Lago for hidden classified documents in August 2022, some of the information federal agents took from the property related to Mr. Macron.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
