President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron will meet over dinner at the glittering Palace of Versailles near Paris after the G7 summit of leading industrialised nations next week in France, their governments announced Saturday.
Trump, who is trying to make progress on finalizing an Iran war deal in the coming days, is expected to have a busy schedule of one-on-one meetings with foreign leaders on the sidelines of the summit in the French lakeside town of Evian-les-Bains, according to senior administration officials who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.
Macron's office said the French president will host Trump for a dinner Wednesday to mark the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States at the Palace of Versailles, “a historic symbol of Franco-American friendship.”
The palace was the residence of French kings from the time of Louis XIV to Louis XVI. It regularly hosts heads of state and foreign dignitaries.
Macron hosted King Charles III and Queen Camilla there in 2021 for the palace's 400th anniversary, with a dinner in the Hall of Mirrors, one of the features of the 2,300 rooms in the palace.
In 2017, before his personal relationship with Vladimir Putin deteriorated because of the war in Ukraine, the then newly elected Macron hosted the Russian president at Versailles.
Trump will also meet with Macron after the Republican president arrives in France on Monday afternoon. Trump will depart Washington after celebrating his 80th birthday with a primetime mixed martial arts show on the White House lawn Sunday.
Trump also plans separate talks with the leaders of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and India, officials told reporters on Saturday. Those countries are attending the summit at Macron's invitation.
Leaders of the G7 countries — the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan — are meeting to discuss economic growth and development, strengthening supply chains for critical minerals, illegal immigration and artificial intelligence, among other issues.
The wars in Ukraine and Iran are also expected to be front and center. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will also be at the summit. A formal meeting between Trump and Zelensky is not currently scheduled, officials told reporters, though they could meet on the sidelines.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
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