PARIS
\nFrench President Emmanuel Macron \u200chas invited US President Donald Trump to a sumptuous dinner at the ornate Palace of Versailles the day after a G7 summit in mid-June, although it remains unclear if Trump will attend either event, sources said.
\nFrance is the host of this year\u2019s G7, with a leaders\u2019 summit in the lakeside resort of Evian-les-Bains at the foot of the French Alps scheduled for June 15-17 \u2014 dates that Macron has already moved to accommodate a mixed martial arts event Trump is hosting at the White House on his 80th \u200cbirthday on June \u200c14.
\nTrump\u2019s relationship with many G7 members has \u200cgrown increasingly strained over his war with Iran among other issues, notably in openly scathing comments regarding British Prime Minister Keir Starmer\u2019s early March offer of military support. He has also repeatedly lambasted NATO, of which all G7 members except Japan are part of, over its response to the conflict.
\nThe sources said it was not yet clear if Trump would be at Evian-les-Bains let alone Versailles, to which \u200cthey said none of the other \u200cG7 leaders have been invited. A Trump no-show would be a major \u200cembarrassment for Macron and would cast a long shadow over the \u200cG7 at a time the US administration is openly skeptical over the value of such multilateral get-togethers.
\nMacron\u2019s invitation to Trump is for a pomp-filled event at Versailles, a gilded 17th-century palace built outside Paris by Louis XIV, \u200cthat would capitalize on the two nations\u2019 shared history ahead of the United States\u2019 250th anniversary celebrations on July 4, two sources said. A senior White House official confirmed the invitation, saying, \u201c(Macron) really wants him (Trump) to go, begging him to go.\u201d But the official added that Trump has yet to even decide on attending the G7.
\nMacron\u2019s office declined to comment on the Versailles invitation. A French official familiar with the planning, which is still at an early stage, said Macron might host Trump for a bilateral visit around the G7 summit, as he might any of the invited leaders. \u201cThe format of this reception is not finalized. The visit remains to be confirmed,\u201d the official said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PARIS French President Emmanuel Macron \u200chas invited US President Donald Trump to a sumptuous dinner at the ornate Palace of Versailles the day after a G7 summit in mid-June, although it remains unclear if Trump will attend either event, sources said. France is the host of this year\u2019s G7, with a leaders\u2019 summit in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450310,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-541181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n