Macron’s got a shiny new Notre-Dame and it’s sure to dazzle Trump

PARIS — Emmanuel Macron realizes, when all else fails, that he can flaunt France’s pomp and ceremony. He also knows that if there’s one man on the world stage who will lap it up, it’s Donald Trump.

So there’s no more perfect a moment, just three days after the collapse of his three-month-old government amid France’s worst political crisis in a generation, to show off what his country does best. Paris’ 14th-century Notre-Dame Cathedral, seriously damaged in a fire almost six years ago, has been restored to its former sparkling glory. The U.S. president-elect will make his first trip since his election victory to be there for the reopening ceremony on Saturday — and everyone knows he’s just going to love it.

“President Emmanuel Macron has done a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

So much has changed since Trump first took office in January 2017 and Macron ascended four months later. Russia is fighting a war in Europe; Israel is engaged in bloody conflict with militant groups on its doorstep; the U.K. has left the EU; and France’s political system is now paralyzed, with the far right poised for power as Macron’s popularity lies in tatters.

But Macron has form, both in using French pageantry when times are tough, and in cozying up to Trump. It’s a bromance the like of which the world has rarely seen.

The question is whether the trip to France will show Trump looking to maintain a facade of statesmanship heading into his second term, or if he’ll revert to the bombastic, Euroskeptic tendencies seen in his first four years. One thing is certain though: He’ll revel in the glitzy, TV-friendly event — a fact Macron is well aware of. His invitation reflects a shrewd awareness of what titillates the man who will still be in the White House long after his best French buddy has relinquished power.

Weird handshakes and military parades

Macron and Trump’s relationship has shaped both their presidencies.

Few can forget the 29-second alpha-male white-knuckle handshake between the pair at a NATO summit in Brussels in 2017, Macron’s first big international appearance, which he described as a “moment of truth”.

A month or so later, he pulled out all the stops in welcoming Trump to that year’s Bastille Day celebrations in Paris and impressed his American counterpart with marching bands, parades and fly-pasts. Two years later at the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, Macron tried to harness France’s and Europe’s history by appealing directly to Trump to filfill the “promise of Normandy” by recognizing the importance of the EU and NATO.

And so in 2024 the relationship continues to flourish. Macron rushed to congratulate Trump on his victory last month even before it was confirmed. As Trump prepares to land in the French capital, Macron hopes to leverage what French officials describe as a “proximity” with his American counterpart to convince him that he’s the European he should be listening to.

U.S. officials and Trump’s camp see Macron as better-positioned to manage ties with Trump than other NATO leaders — including Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Germany and Canada’s Justin Trudeau.

“Trump doesn’t seem to hold Paris in the same contempt he holds the EU or Germany,” said a Republican foreign policy expert working with Trump’s transition team — who was granted anonymity in order to discuss the transition team’s internal thinking. 

“Macron can take solace in the fact that he’s not Scholz.”

No confidence vote

The visit comes at an incredibly challenging time for Macron domestically. France has been plunged into one of its most significant political crises in recent history after Macron’s miscalculation in calling snap elections in the summer. That cost him control of the National Assembly, led to a hung parliament and resulted in the first no-confidence vote against a French prime minister since 1962.

“Macron has the advantage over other European leaders, including Olaf Scholz,” said Michel Duclos, a former French ambassador and senior fellow at the Institut Montaigne. “But he runs the risk of appearing weak in Trump’s eyes due to his troubles at home.”

For Duclos, “the risk for Macron is if Trump deems him to be a loser,” a term he reportedly used to Macron in the past to describe former British Prime Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “That would be deadly, and I think that’s what the [French] president will be trying to do — eradicate that risk.”

United front

Dozens of global leaders including current U.S. First Lady Jill Biden and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier have confirmed their presence Saturday in Paris.

The visit will also test Europe’s ability to present a united front ahead. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was initially expected but the Commission announced Friday that she wouldn’t make it just after announcing g the signature of a South American trade accord which France had vigorously against.

The EU — struggling with internal divisions and other collapsed governments — has largely adopted a wait-and-see approach to Trump 2.0.

That provides an opening to build bilateral bonds.

“Macron’s willingness to anticipate and prepare for future France-U.S. ties is evident in Trump’s invitation to Notre-Dame,” said Tara Varma, an expert on transatlantic relations at the Brookings Institution. “But the risk is that individual European states might pursue their own foreign policy tracks with Trump, instead of staying united.”

Trump’s personnel picks provide little clarity on what lies ahead, particularly regarding Ukraine. His team includes figures like Mike Waltz as national security advisor and Marco Rubio as secretary of state, both viewed as hawkish on Russia, and strongly pro-NATO.

But others such as Pete Hegseth — nominated for defense secretary — and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, have criticized NATO and called for cutting U.S. aid to Ukraine.

The French presidency confirmed Friday that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy would also attend. Macron will be meeting separately with Zelenskyy first and then Trump in the afternoon ahead of the reopening ceremony.

Clea Caulcutt and Veronika Melkozerova contributed to this report.