Trump to attend reopening of Notre Dame in Paris

Donald Trump will attend the weekend reopening of the restored Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, in his first trip abroad as US president-elect, he announced on social media Monday.

The 850-year-old edifice which was ravaged by a fire in 2019 will welcome visitors and worshippers again this Saturday and Sunday, with dozens of world leaders expected among the guests.

"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," Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who set the ambitious goal of rebuilding Notre Dame within five years, conducted an inspection of the restoration on Friday, saying workers had done the "impossible" by healing a "national wound."

Trump posted on Truth Social that Macron had "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!"

After Trump first took office in 2017, his relations with Macron -- then a fresh new face on the world stage, boosted by a resounding election win of his own -- had the initial makings of a "bromance."

Ties later cooled, as the US leader pressed on with a steady retreat from multilateralism that at times ran counter to Macron's position.

As the fire ravaged the fragile cathedral in 2019, Trump urged the use of water bombers to put out the blaze, earning the ridicule of the French fire services.

Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were ultimately brought in for restoration work costing a total of nearly 700 million euros (more than $750 million at today's rate).

It was financed from the 846 million euros in donations that poured in from 150 countries in a surge of solidarity.

Macron said in December 2023 he had invited Pope Francis to the reopening of the cathedral but the head of the Catholic church announced in September, to the surprise of some observers, that he would not be coming.

Instead, the pontiff is making a landmark visit the following weekend to the French island of Corsica.