Trump, escaping domestic troubles, visits
France's Macron
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[July 13, 2017]
By Richard Lough and Ayesha Rascoe
PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald
Trump, under fire at home over Russian connections and abroad over
climate change and trade, arrived in Paris on Thursday seeking common
ground with France's new leader Emmanuel Macron.
After a bumpy start to relations, the two men both have incentives to
improve ties - Macron hoping to elevate France's role in global affairs,
and Trump, seemingly isolated among world leaders, needing a friend
overseas.
Trump comes to France beset by allegations of Russian interference in
the 2016 U.S. election. Emails released on Tuesday suggest his eldest
son welcomed Russian help against his father's Democratic rival Hillary
Clinton.
Weeks after Macron hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Palace
of Versailles, Trump will bask in the trappings of the Bastille Day
military parade on Friday and commemorations of the entry 100 years ago
of U.S. troops into World War One.
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Talks will focus on shared diplomatic and military endeavors, but an
Elysee official said Macron would not shy away from trickier issues.
Trump has made few friends in Europe with his rejection of the Paris
accord on climate change and "America First" trade stance.
Macron's aides say he does not want Trump to feel backed into a corner.
"What Emmanuel Macron wants to do is bring Trump back into the circle so
that the United States, which remains the world's number one power, is
not excluded," French government spokesman Christophe Castaner told BFM
TV.
On his arrival in Paris, Trump headed straight to the U.S. ambassador's
residence where he will lunch with top U.S. military brass before
meeting Macron at the Hotel des Invalides, a grand 17th century complex
where Napoleon Bonaparte and other war heroes are buried.
They will later dine with their wives at a restaurant on the second
floor of Paris' Eiffel Tower. The Elysee official said the symbolism was
clear: "Paris is still Paris."
During the U.S. election campaign, Trump declared that a wave of
militant attacks showed "France is no longer France", urging the French
to get tough on immigration and jihadists.
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![](../images/071317pics/news_q19.jpg)
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive aboard
Air Force One at Orly airport near Paris, France, July 13, 2017.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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COUNTER-TERRORISM
This year's July 14 celebrations come a year after a Tunisian man
loyal to Islamic State plowed a truck through a crowd of revelers on
a seafront promenade in the Riviera city of Nice, killing more than
80 people.
A White House official on Tuesday said Trump and Macron would
discuss the civil war in Syria, where Islamic State is defending its
last major urban stronghold of Raqqa, and counter-terrorism.
For Macron, France's youngest leader since Napoleon two centuries
ago, the visit is a chance to use soft diplomacy to win Trump's
confidence and set about influencing U.S. foreign policy, which
European leaders say lacks direction.
"I have no doubt that the presidents will talk about the state of
military actions in Syria and they will talk about the future," the
Elysee official said.
"Macron has said before that military action is not enough, we have
to plan for development and stabilization."
Beyond Syria and the Middle East, the Elysee said Macron would also
press Trump for more support in financing a new West African
military force to battle Islamic militants in the Sahel, where
France wants to wind down its troop presence.
In bringing Trump to Paris, Macron has stolen a march on Britain's
embattled Prime Minister Theresa May.
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London's offer of a state visit for Trump met fierce criticism and
warnings that he would be greeted by mass protests.
An Elabe poll showed that 59 percent of French people approved of
Macron's decision to invite Trump.
(Additional reporting by Michel Rose; editing by Andrew Roche and
Gareth Jones)
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