Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
broken clouds
weather
OMAN
23°C / 23°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Trump arrives in Paris for Bastille Day visit

1058827
1058827
minus
plus

Paris: France rolled out the red carpet to welcome Donald Trump on Thursday on a presidential visit laden with military pomp that the White House hopes will offer respite from a growing scandal back home.


The US president’s brief 24-hour trip to the French capital coincides with celebrations for Bastille Day, France’s national day which is marked on Friday, and the 100th anniversary of US involvement in World War I.


Accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, the 71-year-old stepped onto French soil for the first time as president hoping the visit will distract from weighty allegations that his family and inner circle colluded with Russia to win the 2016 US election.


The scandal has put his son and top aides in legal jeopardy, cast a pall over his efforts to remake the political agenda and may yet imperil his presidency.


During the brief visit, Trump —who sees himself as a transformative figure in US history — will be the guest of honour for Friday’s Bastille Day festivities that mark a pivotal point in the French Revolution.


This year’s event — featuring 63 planes, 29 helicopters, 241 horses and 3,720 soldiers — also coincides with the centenary of America entering World War I.


More than 50,000 Americans died in what then-president Woodrow Wilson described as the “war to end all wars,” a conflict that forged the trans-Atlantic alliance in steel.


On the eve of the parade, Trump was scheduled to visit Napoleon’s tomb, hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and share a Michelin-starred dinner atop the Eiffel Tower.


Talks between the two leaders are expected to focus on joint efforts to combat the IS group in Iraq and Syria, where American and French troops are in action side-by-side.


In London, Berlin, Brussels and Paris, European leaders are wondering how best to handle the US president, whose nationalist “America First” agenda has upended transatlantic relations. There are already tensions over climate change and trade, while Trump was openly critical of the EU last year and snubbed a handshake with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during their first meeting in March.


“The Western world is fracturing since the American election,” Macron said in an interview with regional newspaper Ouest-France published on Thursday. Trump and Macron appear to have little in common, with their views at odds on everything from globalisation to immigration.


Macron was even described as the “anti-Trump” during his run for the French presidency this year and is half the US president’s age.


Macron also told Ouest-France that Paris and Washington had “an essential point of convergence: fighting terrorism and protecting our vital interests”. However, he also lamented “a protectionist tendency (which) has resurfaced in the United States”.


“I want to defend free and fair trade,” he added. — AFP


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon