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Trump’s R.S.V.P. to Macron: Yes to Bastille Day in Paris - The New York Times

posted onJune 29, 2017
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Article snippet: WASHINGTON — President Trump, the self-styled rebel who wants to sweep out an ancien regime, will travel to Paris on July 14 to commemorate revolutionaries who actually did it — with bloodshed and barricade-storming — 228 years ago in France. The White House announced on Wednesday that Mr. Trump had accepted an invitation from President Emmanuel Macron of France to join him for Bastille Day. He extended the offer in a phone call the day before, when the two leaders discussed Mr. Trump’s latest warning to the Syrian government over its alleged preparation of a chemical weapons attack. Mr. Trump and Mr. Macron are to review a traditional military parade on the Champs-Élysées, which this year will mark the 100th anniversary of the entry of the United States into World War I. American and French troops will march side by side along the avenue. The White House used anodyne language to describe the president’s motives for going to Paris — “reaffirming America’s strong ties of friendship to France,” and “celebrating this important day with the French people” — which failed to even remotely capture the psychological subtext. Ever since their death grip of a handshake in Brussels in May, the personal dynamic between Mr. Trump and Mr. Macron has seemed less like a budding friendship than a polite prizefight — a mixture of bluff and bluster by two alpha males intent on claiming an edge. Mr. Macron told a French newspaper that the prolonged handshake was deliberate — “a mome... Link to the full article to read more

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