Trump returns to world stage for Notre Dame Cathedral reopening in Paris

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1The Notre Dame Cathedral provided the luminous backdrop for President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the geopolitical stage Saturday, when French officials put an ornate line under the five-year project to restore the soaring landmark with a reopening ceremony featuring dozens of world leaders.

2Trump, who is set to return to the White House in a little over six weeks, arrived in Paris at a pivotal moment for governments in Western Europe. 3The region, like France itself, is caught between a wavering liberal democratic order and the rising right-wing movements that aim to upend it.

4French President Emmanuel Macron, now in his second five-year term, seized on the occasion to hold a private meeting with Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 5The three eventually stood together for an uneasy-looking photo opportunity. 6Macron himself is striving to stabilize an unraveling government at home while retaining his influence abroad — most persistently when it comes to the future of Western support for Ukraine against Russia.

7Zelensky’s position is more perilous. 8Trump has insisted he has a plan to bring immediate peace to the region, though allies of Ukraine are concerned the president-elect might push for a ceasefire or peace deal viewed as more favorable to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has signaled little interest in abandoning his war of conquest.

A tourist boat in front of Notre Dame Cathedral ahead of its formal reopening for the first time since a devastating fire, in Paris, France, on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024.

9Related article Inside Notre Dame, Paris’ Gothic gem, as it reopens to the world

12Zelensky gave away little in a social media post after his sit-down with Trump and Macron, describing it as a “good and productive trilateral meeting.”

13“We all want this war to end as soon as possible and in a just way,” Zelensky wrote on X, adding that “President Trump is, as always, resolute.”

14Macron welcomed Trump to the Élysée Palace ahead of the ceremony with the pair’s now-customary grappling handshake before the two briefly addressed reporters.

15“We had a good time together and we had … really great success working together on defense and offense, too,” Trump said of his first term. 16“And it certainly seems like the world is going a little crazy right now.”

17Macron called Trump’s visit “a great honor or French people” and recalled Trump’s response to the Notre Dame fire five years earlier.

18“You were at that time president, for the first time, and I remember the solidarity and your immediate action,” Macron said. 19“So welcome back again. 20We’re very happy to have you here.”

Notre-Dame illuminated during a ceremony to mark its re-opening on Saturday.French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech to the 2000-strong congregation. Some 50 heads of state and government were expected in the French capital to attend the ceremony marking the rebuilding of the Gothic masterpiece five years after the 2019 fire ravaged the world heritage landmark and toppled its spire.Clerics arrive to attend the ceremony.Spectators gather outside the cathedral on Saturday.The choir, clergy and congregation stand to sing during the grand reopening ceremony of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris on Saturday.Firefighters, rescuers and builders involved in the restoration walk through the nave past attendees including US President-elect Donald Trump, current US first lady Jill Biden and Britain’s Prince William, as well as other world leaders and dignitaries.Spectators gather outside Notre Dame as it is lit with the words for "Thank you" in multiple languages.Shortly after sunset, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, left, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron stand in the refurbished forecourt, as the Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich leads a procession of archbishops, bishops and priests to the cathedral doors at the start of the ceremony.Customers sit inside a restaurant across the cathedral on December 7.People walk along the banks of the Seine opposite Notre Dame cathedral on December 7 hours before its formal reopening.The nave of the fully restored Notre Dame cathedral. The world was given its first glimpses of the cathedral's resurrection on November 29.A bronze tabernacle is seen on architect Viollet-le-Duc’s altar and the statues that make up the Vow of Louis XIII.Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were mobilized for the five-year restoration, which cost hundreds of millions of euros.Macron meets with Marie Parant, who restored murals in the Saint Marcel's chapel within the building. Twenty-nine chapels surround the interior of the cathedral. They were not part of the original plans for the space but added in the 13th century.A detailed view the inside of Notre Dame cathedral.The dioceses of Paris decided to fully refurnish the interior of the cathedral and tasked French artist and designer Guillaume Bardet with creating new liturgical pieces, including the high altar, ambo, cathedra, tabernacle and baptistry.Macron delivers a speech during his final site visit on November 29. “You have transformed ashes into art,” he told the crowd, which included more than 1,300 people who worked on the restoration.The Crown of Thorns is considered one of the most precious relics of Notre Dame. Brought to Paris from the Holy Land in 1263 by Saint Louis, firefighters managed to save it on the night of the fire, though its glass case was broken in the process. A new reliquary has been designed by French artist Sylvain Dubuisson.Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron view the new roof structure of Notre Dame. The Elysee described this moment of the walkthrough as “one of the most symbolic” moments of the visit. Before the fire, the roof was nicknamed “the forest” because it was made with oak trees from across France, and due to the density of the vaults. It was the epicenter of the blaze before it collapsed, according to the French government.The choir stalls of Notre Dame on November 29.A general view of the newly-restored nave of Notre Dame. It is the fourth time that the nave has been rebuilt. Before any work could be done, the building first needed to be secured to prevent damaged portions from collapsing and to support the 28 flying buttresses of the nave.Macron is accompanied on the televised walkthrough by Paris' archbishop Laurent Ulrich and Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo on November 29.The south rose window, offered as a gift by King Louis the IX, has been restored to its full glory. It’s not the first time it has undergone major works as it had to be reconstructed in the 18th and 19th centuries too.This photograph shows part of a bas-relief outside the Notre Dame cathedral.Macron’s first stop on his seventh and final site visit of the refurbished Notre Dame cathedral is the forecourt outside the cathedral. Restoration work here is not yet finished as the surrounding area redevelopment is not due to start until next year, finishing in 2030.Pedestrians stop and look at Notre Dame cathedral on November 28 ahead of the reopening.Workers operate on scaffoldings around the wooden structure of the new spire of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris in July 2024. This spire was reconstructed to be identical to the original one that was destroyed in the 2019 blaze.A technician works at the reconstruction site in July 2022.Workers plaster stonework as they rappel down a vault inside Notre Dame in April 2021.An aerial view shows the widespread damage to the cathedral in April 2019. Before the fire, the roof was nicknamed “the forest” because it was made with oak trees from across France. It was the epicenter of the blaze before it collapsed, according to the French government.The steeple and spire collapse as the roof of the Notre Dame burns.People watch as smoke and flames rise during the fire at the historic monument in central Paris in April 2019.

21The French president’s success in delivering Trump to Paris earned him some rare acclaim from the French press, which described it as a “diplomatic coup.” 22Macron, who was the first foreign leader to publicly congratulate Trump on his election last month, successfully put himself in a room with Trump and Zelensky for a closed-door meeting that lasted a little more than 30 minutes. 23The president-elect and Ukrainian leader last met weeks before the US election in New York for a conversation that Zelensky characterized as “warm, good, constructive.”

24The particulars of Trump’s visit to Paris were hashed out over several days, but the president-elect had told his team he was keen to attend as soon as the invitation arrived. 25He has a long-held fascination with the cathedral and even tweeted out in distress more than five years ago as a fire ravaged its Gothic edifice, which sits on the Île de la Cité, an island within Paris’ Seine River. 26Its iconic spire and roof were destroyed as television audiences around the globe watched in horror.

27Investigators believe the blaze was an accident but have not yet identified the direct cause.

28“So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris,” Trump posted on April 15, 2019, during his first term in the Oval Office. 29“Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. 30Must act quickly!”

31His suggestion was ignored by firefighters and the French civil security agency, Sécurité Civile, responded on social media less than two hours later, warning – in English – that “water-bombing aircrafts … could lead to the collapse of the entire structure of the cathedral.”

32Trump has long sought the kind of high-society recognition on offer this weekend from Macron and other European leaders anxious over the direction of the incoming administration, though some of his domestic critics — led by late-night comedians — mocked Trump before he left.

33“If all goes according to plan, he would like to buy it and turn it into a casino,” Jimmy Kimmel joked earlier this week. 34Jimmy Fallon quipped that the cathedral is “going to burst right back into flames” when Trump steps inside.

35For Macron, though, the occasion was nothing to scoff at.

36In the immediate aftermath of the fire, he pledged to rebuild and reopen the gutted cathedral in five years — a deadline he just about made. 37There is less room for error, and much more at stake, in his efforts to sustain the fragile coalition backing Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin delivers remarks during a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at the Pentagon on May 20, 2024, in Arlington, Virginia.

38Related article Defense secretary announces nearly $1 billion in Ukraine aid as he forcefully argues for global US leadership

41The US is the single largest provider of military assistance to Ukraine and critical to marshaling Western support for its defense. 42Trump, however, has cast doubt on the value of US aid to Ukraine and has repeatedly claimed the war would not have started if he had been president.

43Macron’s congratulations to the president-elect last month — going out before most US media agencies had even called the race — alluded to his relationship with Trump the first time he was in the White House, once described as a bromance, although it didn’t last.

44“Congratulations, President @realDonaldTrump. 45Ready to work together as we did for four years,” Macron wrote on X last month. 46“With your convictions and mine. 47With respect and ambition. 48For more peace and prosperity.”

49Later that evening, he and Trump spoke by phone, Macron’s office said.

50The French president has made a fresh push to curry favor with the returning president and his allies. 51CNN has reported that Macron plans to invite Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk, whom the president-elect has tapped for a role in his administration, to Paris for a summit on artificial intelligence in early February. 52Musk was also on hand for the ceremonies at Notre Dame.

PARIS, FRANCE - DECEMBER 7: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump meets Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales at the UK Ambassador's Residence on the day of the reopening ceremonies of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, five and a half years after a devastating fire on December 7, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Suzanne Plunkett - Pool/Getty Images)

53Trump also met with Prince William at the UK ambassador’s residence in Paris following the ceremony. 54“He’s doing a fantastic job,” Trump said of Prince William, calling the British heir to the throne a “good man.”

55First lady Jill Biden also attended the Notre Dame ceremony, wrapping up her last official state trip abroad, while President Joe Biden opted to stay in the US. 56The first lady did not, however, visit the Élysée Palace or attend any high-profile meetings.

57Saturday’s trip came a week after Trump announced his selection of son-in-law Jared Kushner’s father, real estate developer Charles Kushner, to serve as the next US ambassador to France. 58Charles Kushner was pardoned by Trump in 2020 after pleading guilty in 2004 to 16 counts of tax evasion, one count of retaliating against a federal witness and another count of lying to the Federal Election Commission.

59Macron was not the first G7 leader to huddle with Trump since the election. 60Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Florida and dined with him at Mar-a-Lago on November 29.

61Over dinner that night, Trump — during a discussion on his proposed tariffs — joked that Canada avoid any pain by becoming the 51st US state, two sources briefed on the conversation told CNN.

62“The president was teasing us,” Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who was seated at the same table, told reporters in Ottawa this week. 63“It was, of course, on that issue, in no way a serious comment.”

64This story and headline have been updated with new reporting.

from CNN