EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France – When U.S. President Donald Trump, flanked by the French president, signed the Iran memorandum in the opulent Palace of Versailles, the optics were vintage Emmanuel Macron: the full weight of French history, glamor and pomp deployed to win over a difficult counterpart.
The invitation to a grand dinner at the gilded residence of Louis XIV had been designed to persuade Trump to stay till the end of a three-day Group of Seven summit — rather than leave early as he did in Canada last year — and to encourage the mercurial U.S. president to adopt a more conciliatory position toward fellow leaders whom he has often chided over trade and Ukraine.
French diplomats cheered a G7 they described as “a clean sweep,” with Trump joining the other leaders in acknowledging Ukraine’s improved battlefield fortunes with a unified pledge of support and fresh sanctions on Russia.
