Paris, July 13 (Reuters): President Donald Trump, under fire at home over Russian connections and abroad over climate change and trade, arrived in Paris today seeking common ground with France's new leader Emmanuel Macron.
After a bumpy start to relations, the two men both have incentives to improve ties - Macron hoping to elevate France's role in global affairs, and Trump, seemingly isolated among world leaders, needing a friend overseas.
Trump comes to France beset by allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 US election. Emails released on Tuesday suggest his eldest son welcomed Russian help against his father's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
Weeks after Macron hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Palace of Versailles, Trump will bask in the trappings of the Bastille Day military parade tomorrow and commemorations of the entry 100 years ago of US troops into World War I.
Talks will focus on shared diplomatic and military endeavours, but an Elysee official said Macron would not shy away from trickier issues.
Macron's aides say he does not want Trump to feel backed into a corner. "What Emmanuel Macron wants to do is bring Trump back into the circle so that the United States, which remains the world's number one power, is not excluded," French government spokesman Christophe Castaner told BFM TV.
