American President-elect Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky will be dry! The reopening ceremony of Notre-Dame, which will be attended by the Ukrainian leader and the former and future American president, Saturday in Paris, will take place “inside the cathedral” due to the weather, announced the Élysée . Rain and wind are expected and could have tarnished a ceremony, part of which was initially scheduled to take place outdoors.
The concert planned on the square has been brought forward. It will in fact be recorded this evening before being broadcast on Saturday on France Télévisions. “Due to the very difficult weather conditions expected tomorrow evening, the artists scheduled for tomorrow's prime are recording this evening and tonight in live conditions,” indicates France Télévisions, which “thanks all the artists who have all agreed to record to offer an exceptional complete evening. Tomorrow, there will be no concert on the square.
On Saturday, the French president was also scheduled to speak in front of the cathedral rebuilt after the fire of April 15, 2019, before its doors opened for a liturgical ceremony. His speech will therefore take place within the building.
Before that, he will meet with his American counterpart Donald Trump at 4 p.m. local time then with his Ukrainian counterpart at 5 p.m., according to the presidency.
Explosive international context
The composition of the future Trump administration raises concerns about its international intentions, while the ceasefire in Lebanon remains very fragile, the war in Gaza continues, the Iranian nuclear program raises fears of the worst and that Russian rhetoric is becoming more and more threatening.
In this explosive context, Emmanuel Macron is seeking to reconnect as quickly as possible with the next tenant of the White House, hoping to exert more influence than he had during Trump's first term.
VideoNotre-Dame de Paris: “It’s prodigious”, Emmanuel Macron visits the restored cathedral
Very critical of the billions of dollars released by the United States for Ukraine, the president-elect promised to resolve the war between kyiv and Moscow even before taking the oath of office on January 20, without ever explaining how. Unlike the outgoing Democratic administration of Joe Biden, Donald Trump has also never mentioned the need for a victory for Ukraine, attacked by Russia in February 2022.
-France intends to continue its support for kyiv to put its president in a position of strength when he wishes to negotiate with Moscow. For the moment, Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses any negotiations, convinced of being able to gain the advantage on the ground.
Von der Leyen is absent
In addition to Trump and Zelensky, around forty heads of state and government will attend the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral on Saturday. With other diplomatic subjects potentially on the agenda for discussions, starting with the free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur.
Ursula von der Leyen had initially announced that she would travel to Paris, before a spokesperson announced at the last minute on Friday that this would ultimately not be the case, citing “poor internal communication”. One way to avoid a potentially heated exchange in person with Emmanuel Macron.
The French president had in fact made it clear to him on Thursday that the agreement was “not acceptable as it stands” on a number of subjects, from agriculture to respect for the Paris climate agreement, to name a few. by mirror measurements to guarantee compliance with European standards.
The French presidency insisted on Friday that the announcement of the conclusion of the Mercosur negotiations was the “responsibility” of the Commission, but that “the agreement was neither signed nor ratified”. “There is no entry into force of the agreement with Mercosur,” we insisted on Friday evening at the Élysée.
In France, this agreement has always aroused strong opposition, particularly in agricultural circles, with the document removing the majority of customs duties between the two zones.
The agreement notably allows South American countries to export fixed quantities of beef, poultry and pork to the EU, in exchange for European car manufacturers, for example, benefiting in the opposite direction from a preferential regime. for their exports to the South American countries signatories to the agreement.
