Trump says he'll attend Notre Dame Cathedral reopening celebration in Paris this weekend

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Trump says he'll attend Notre Dame Cathedral reopening celebration in Paris this weekend

2024-12-03 21:28 Last Updated At：21:30

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump will attend the reopening celebration for Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris this weekend, his first foreign trip since the election.

The cathedral is set to reopen Saturday after more than five years of reconstruction following a devastating fire in 2019 that engulfed and nearly destroyed the soaring Paris landmark. The ceremonies being held Saturday and Sunday will be high-security affairs, with about 50 heads of state and government expected to attend.

Trump announced that he will be among them in a post on his Truth Social site Monday evening.

“It is an honor to announce that I will be traveling to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the re-opening of the Magnificent and Historic Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been fully restored after a devastating fire five years ago,” he wrote. “President Emmanuel Macron has done a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so. It will be a very special day for all!”

The trip will be Trump's first abroad since he won November's presidential election. He traveled to Scotland and Ireland in May 2023, as a candidate, to visit his local golf courses.

Trump was president in 2019 when a massive fire engulfed Notre Dame, collapsing its spire and threatening to destroy one of the world’s greatest architectural treasures, known for its mesmerizing stained glass.

Trump watched the inferno in horror, along with the rest of the world.

“So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris,” he wrote on what was then named Twitter, offering his advice to the city.

"Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!” he wrote.

French officials appeared to respond shortly after, noting that “All means” were being used to extinguish the flames, "except for water-bombing aircrafts which, if used, could lead to the collapse of the entire structure of the cathedral.”

Trump also spoke with Macron and Pope Francis at the time to offer his condolences and said he had offered them “the help of our great experts on renovation and construction.”

Trump and Macron have had a complicated relationship.

During Trump's first term in office, Macron proved to be among the world leaders most adept at managing the American president's whims as he tried to develop a personal connection built in no small part on flattery.

Macron was the guest of honor at Trump's first state dinner and Trump traveled to France several times. But the relationship soured as Trump’s term progressed and Macron criticized him for questioning the need for NATO and raising doubts about America’s commitment to the mutual-defense pact.

As he ran for a second term this year, Trump often mocked Macron on the campaign trail, imitating his accent and threatening to impose steep tariffs on wine and champagne bottles shipped to the U.S. if France tried to tax American companies.

After Trump won another term last month, Macron rushed to win favor with the president-elect. He was among the first global leaders to congratulate Trump — even before The Associated Press called the race in his favor — and beat UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to the punch in delivering a congratulatory phone call.

"Congratulations, President @realDonaldTrump,” Macron posted on X early on Nov 6. “Ready to work together as we did for four years. With your convictions and mine. With respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity.”

Macron and other European leaders are trying to persuade Trump not to abandon America’s support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s nearly three-year invasion. European leaders hope to convince Trump that a victory by Russia would be viewed as a defeat for the U.S. — and for the incoming president, by extension — hoping to sell him on the need to pursue an end to the war more favorable to Kyiv than he might otherwise seek.

Trump over the weekend announced that he intends to nominate real estate developer Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to serve as ambassador to France. The elder Kushner was pardoned by Trump in December 2020 after pleading guilty years earlier to tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations.

The reopening of Notre Dame will be an elaborate, multi-day celebration, beginning Saturday.

Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich will preside at a reopening service that afternoon, banging on Notre Dame’s shuttered doors with his staff to reopen them, according to the cathedral's website.

The archbishop will also symbolically reawaken Notre Dame’s thunderous grand organ. The fire that melted the cathedral’s lead roofing coated the huge instrument in toxic dust. Its 8,000 pipes have been painstakingly disassembled, cleaned and retuned.

Macron will attend and address the VIP guests.

After the service, opera singers Pretty Yende, from South Africa, and Julie Fuchs, from France; Chinese pianist Lang Lang; Paris-born cellist Yo-Yo Ma; Benin-born singer Angelique Kidjo; Lebanese singer Hiba Tawaji and others will perform at a concert Saturday evening, according to the show’s broadcaster, France Télévisions.

On Sunday morning, the Paris archbishop will lead an inaugural Mass and consecration of the new altar.

Nearly 170 bishops from France and other countries will join the celebration, along with priests from all 106 parishes in the Paris diocese. The Mass will be followed by a “fraternal buffet” for the needy.

Ile de la Cité, where the cathedral sits in the middle of the River Seine, will be blocked off to tourists for the events. A public viewing area with room for 40,000 spectators will be set up along the Seine’s southern bank.

Princess of Wales joins royals as Qatari state visit to the UK starts

2024-12-04 10:13 Last Updated At：10:20

LONDON (AP) — The Princess of Wales helped kick off the emir of Qatar’s trip to Britain on Tuesday as the U.K. government enlists one of the most popular royals to ensure the success of a state visit by the leader of a key ally, even as the princess recovers from cancer treatment.

The event will be just one of a handful of appearances that Prince William’s wife, better known as Kate, has made since she was diagnosed with cancer in March, underscoring the importance of the gas-rich gulf state that invests billions in Britain and has played a central role in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas.

William and Kate greeted Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Sheikha Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhaim Al Thani in the morning. The couples then traveled to Horse Guards Parade in central London, where King Charles III formally welcomed the emir and Sheikha Jawaher to Britain at the start of a two-day visit that will include a trip to Westminster Abbey, a banquet at Buckingham Palace and a meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Queen Camilla, who pulled out of Tuesday's chilly outdoor events on medical advice, told guests at a palace lunch that she had suffered from a lingering chest infection that was a form of pneumonia, Britain's Press Association reported. She added that she no longer has pneumonia, but was suffering from post-viral fatigue.

Though smaller than the U.S. state of Connecticut, Qatar has the world’s third-largest reserves of natural gas and is a key investor in the U.K. The Qatari Investment Authority owns the luxury retailer Harrod’s and holds large stakes in British companies such as Barclays Bank and the supermarket chain Sainsbury’s. It has also invested heavily in London real estate, including the Shard, western Europe’s tallest building.

But the display of pomp being rolled out for the emir sits uneasily with human rights advocates who say women and LGBTQ+ people face discrimination in Qatar, and migrant workers still haven’t been compensated for “egregious abuses” that occurred during preparations for the 2022 soccer World Cup.

“Hosting the royal visit without addressing these issues is tantamount to royal-washing Qatar’s troubling rights record,” said Yasmine Ahmed, U.K. director of Human Rights Watch.

The state visit comes at the end of a difficult year for Britain’s royal family.

The king was sidelined for two months after it was announced in February that he had been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer. Just a few weeks later, Kate made public her own cancer diagnosis and said that she, too, would be stepping away from public duties to focus on her treatment and recovery.

While Charles returned to public duties at the end of April, Kate needed more time and her return has been slower.

The princess has made only a few public appearances this year, mostly at moments of national significance. They included the king’s annual birthday parade in June and the men’s final at Wimbledon in July. Most recently, she took part in the annual Remembrance Day ceremonies in November to honor the nation’s war dead.

The princess announced in September that she had completed chemotherapy treatment.

One reason the government and royal family may have asked Kate and William to play a major role in the Qatari state visit is because they have a lot in common with the emir.

All three are in their early 40s and were educated at elite British prep schools. The emir and William are both graduates of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, with the emir going on to serve in the Qatari military and William serving in both the British Army and Royal Air Force.

Kate and William will join the Qatari royals and the king and queen for a carriage procession to Buckingham Palace.

After lunch at the palace, the emir and Sheikha Jawaher will visit Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament.

Later in the day, the king and queen will host a state banquet at Buckingham Palace.

On Wednesday, the emir will visit Sandhurst, meeting with some of his former classmates and current Qatari cadets. He will also meet with RAF personnel who are providing advanced training for Qatari air force pilots.

The emir will then travel to the prime minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street for his meeting with Starmer.

Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/royalty