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By Carol E. Lee, Kristen Welker and Kelly O Donnell
PARIS – President Donald Trump met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday to face new tensions in one of the closest ties he has forged with a world leader since taking office.
On the eve of their meeting at the Elysee, Trump criticized Macron's speech on strengthening European defenses in order to protect the continent from countries, including the United States. "insulting."
The president also decided not to attend a conference for peace that Macron is organizing in Paris this weekend, where leaders from around the world are meeting to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.
But Saturday morning, the two men tried to dispel their differences. Macron tried to explain more clearly his vision of a new European army and Trump emphasized their friendship and their shared positions on "burden sharing" for NATO countries.
Macron called Trump "my good friend" and even pinched Trump's knee at the end of their remarks to reporters, a gesture reminiscent of the bromance that defined their relationship.
"We've become very good friends over the past two years," Trump said of Macron. "Our points of view are very similar."
Macron said his vision of a stronger European defense was aimed at easing the burden on the United States because "it is unfair that European security is now assured only by the United States".
"That's why I think we need more European capabilities, European defense, to support this part of the burden," said Macron. "When President Trump has to protect or defend one of the American states, he is not asking France or Germany, nor any other government of Europe to fund it."
Trump has set a goal that European countries increase their defense budgets as NATO members since his campaign for the presidency. This is one of the main points of tension in his administration's relations with the continent.
"We want to help Europe but it has to be fair," he said on Saturday. "At present, the burden sharing has been largely on the United States."
Macron is one of the few European leaders to have successfully developed a relationship with Trump. He hosted the president in Paris last year for the July 14 celebrations, and Trump paid tribute to Macron with the only state dinner that he held during his two-year tenure.
But the limits of these efforts began to appear.
Trump's decision not to attend the Macron Peace Conference, for example, is seen not only as a snub, but also as a "sign of the man who is not interested in peace." "said François Heisbourg, former campaign advisor to the French leader who is now the director of a think tank on defense in Paris.
"The fact that the US president is the only one not to stay for what we call the peace forum, which will be attended by all other heads of state on Sunday, is a really strange symbol," says Heisbourg. to do very badly. "
Other world leaders in Paris this weekend, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, plan to attend.
The question of whether Trump and Putin will have a discussion at the events in Paris, including a dinner on Saturday night and a lunch on Sunday, is looming over the weekend. There is no scheduled meeting between US and Russian leaders, who are expected to meet officially later this month, while both are in Argentina for a world summit.
Beyond European defense, Trump and Macron had to discuss a wide range of issues related to economic policy, foreign policy and security. Macron said their talks would focus on trade, climate change, Iran's threats and the conflicts in Syria and Yemen. Trump said that terrorism would be an important topic of their meeting and that he hoped to advance the discussions on trade.
"We'll see if we can get it over the line, as they say," said Trump.
Macron said France was committed to increasing its defense budget. His remarks seemed to be aimed at repairing the damage caused by his remarks yesterday on the protection of Europe against the United States, while discussing cyber security and global instability.
Just before arriving in Paris on Friday night, Trump explained how he interpreted what Macron had said.
"French President Macron has just suggested to Europe to have its own army to protect itself from the United States, China and Russia," Trump wrote on Twitter. "Very insulting, but maybe Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, that the United States is subsidizing a lot!"
Trump's visit to Paris is his first visit outside the United States since Tuesday's mid-term elections, during which Democrats took control of the House and Republicans held the Senate.
He decided to attend the commemoration of the First World War after his plans for a military parade in Washington, DC, this weekend, failed because they were about to cost more than $ 50,000. $ 90 million. He described the Armistice Day celebration as a "parade", although it was a series of events, including a ceremony at the foot of the Arc de Triomphe on Sunday.
Overall, Macron's theme for the weekend – international cooperation and the value of alliances – runs counter to Trump's "America First" worldview, and the city expects Sunday demonstrations against the policy of the American leader.
Another group of protesters in Paris are demonstrating because they agree with Trump. The Association of American Accidents in France is organizing a protest against the US policy of automatic granting of citizenship to anyone born in the United States. The group wants the American citizenship of its members to be abolished, saying that US policy forces them to pay additional taxes on their French income.
Trump said he wants to overturn the so-called US citizenship policy.
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