“REMEMBER SOLIDARITY”

Macron told Trump it was “a great honor for the French to welcome you” for the reopening ceremony of Notre-Dame, devastated by a fire in 2019 during Trump’s first term.

“You were president at that time and I remember the solidarity and the immediate reaction,” Macron added, speaking in English.

When he first took office in 2017, relations between Trump and Macron – then also a new face on the world stage – began warmly despite their obvious political differences.

Their long, muscular handshakes – which saw each seeking to assert their superiority – became a light-hearted focus of attention before ties cooled, then deteriorated, following disputes over climate change, trade and defense.

They were to discuss wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as trade.