Macron Hosts Trump at 2,300-Room Versailles for US 250th Anniversary as French Left Denounces Flattery
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 17
Macron Hosts Trump at 2,300-Room Versailles for US 250th Anniversary as French Left Denounces Flattery
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 17
Summary
Wednesday’s Versailles dinner puts Trump at the center of Macron’s bid to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence with a symbol of Franco-American friendship.
Macron’s office said the palace was chosen for France’s role in backing the American revolution, while French officials also hoped the gesture would help keep Trump through the full G7 summit.
Trump, who will tour the Hall of Mirrors and a French-US history exhibition before dinner, praised Versailles as “the real deal” even after months of public jabs at Macron.
The outreach comes despite fresh friction over Trump’s threat of 100% tariffs on French wine unless Paris drops its digital services tax, a demand Macron said he would resist.
French left-wing leaders and some centrists said the Versailles welcome looked obsequious, arguing that flattering Trump has not softened his hostility toward France and Europe.