On 7th of December, 2024 Donald Trump visited France, where he was received by French president Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace. During his visit trump attended reopening ceremony of the restored Notre-Dame Cathedral, although the primary visit was for the opening ceremony. While trump met many European leaders to discuss regarding US-EU relationship. Trump held meeting Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy focusing on Russo-Ukrainian war, and with Prince William of the United Kingdom regrading US-UK special relationships. The reopening of the Netro-Dame Cathedral was major cultural milestone and restoration after years of meticulous reconstruction. Trump’s presence in ceremony highlight the importance Franco-American relations and his commitment to international cooperation.
Ukraine talks:
During his Paris visit on December 17, 2024 President-elect Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during the meeting trump advocated for ceasefire to stop the madness, as he stands for not spending on Ukraine any more. Further he suggested that European nations should take on the responsibility of supporting and defending Ukraine by deploying troops to oversee the ceasefire in Ukraine. In return, Zelenskyy emphasized that ceasefire is baseless and need robust security guarantees to prevent future Russian aggression. He was hoping for Ukraine to be part NATO and in presence Macron emphasizing potential peace negotiation.
US-UK relationship:
Trump met with Prince William, the Prince of Wales in Paris following the reopening the ceremony. During they conversation trump most inquired about personally things mostly including health of Prince William family members. Prince William did mention about his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales doing well, but his father King Charles is fighting very hard amid health challenges. Later trump praised Prince William as good-looking guy and looked really nice during their meeting. The meeting was about U.S.-UK special relationship, with both the parties interested and commitment in maintaining strong bilateral ties.
US France Relationship:
As French president welcomed trump saying,
“You were at the time 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.”
Trump in return celebrated the great success of US and France collaboration on defense and offense. Then trump said
“Thank you very much. Very great honor. And we had a great relationship. As everyone knows, we accomplished a lot together, and the people of France are spectacular. I guess it’s one of our largest groups in the United States, French people, and we respect them and we love them. Very talented people, extremely energetic people, as you know very well, yeah, and it’s an honor to be here.”
In conclusion, trump underscore the importance of the relationship with France, because they are closer to china. They are trading in Yuan and if unchecked they might change sides with Chinese. Then France is good at navy they have updated new C-UAV to counter the Houthi in Arabian sea. If the France and China would collaborate on maritime affairs it was mark the end the American era.
