Trump in Paris: President launches attacks on Macron, Mueller and Acosta before landing in France for WWI commemorations
Mr Trump clashes with French President Macron as he arrives for centenary commemorations
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Donald Trump has wasted no time taking a poke at his French host as he arrived in Paris for events marking the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the First World War, tweeting as he landed that President Emmanuel Macron had made an “insulting” proposal to build up Europe's military to counter the US, China and Russia.
It was a clear sign that the “America First” president was ready to chart his own course yet again as world leaders gathered to remember the coalition that brought an end to the first global war. Trump's visit comes on the heels of midterm elections in which Americans delivered a split referendum on his presidency, keeping the Senate in his party's control but ceding the House to opposition Democrats.
He planned to meet with Macron on Saturday for talks on topics expected to include European security, Syria and Iran. As he arrived, Mr Trump tweeted that Mr Macron “has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the U.S., China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the U.S. subsidizes greatly!”
Mr Trump's brief visit to Europe comes amid uncertainty about the US relationship with the continent. Mr Trump has railed against trade deals with the European Union and has criticised some EU nations, including France, for not spending enough to defense to sustain Nato, the decades-old Western alliance formed as a bulwark to Moscow's aggression.
Mr Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, said in Paris that the US was concerned about stability in Europe and that Mr Trump was not shirking from global engagement. “I think the enduring lesson (of World War I) for the United States is that when you become a global power ... you have global interests to protect,” Mr Bolton said. “Great world leaders,” he said, are “driven by national interests.”
For Sunday's armistice anniversary, Mr Trump was to join world leaders at a ceremony in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe.
“It should be a very beautiful period of time, the 100th anniversary of the ending of World War I. We have many countries — the leadership from many countries will be there, especially since they heard the United States will be there. And we look forward to that,” Mr Trump said
Mr Trump originally wanted to celebrate Veterans Day on Sunday with a grand military parade in Washington, as he was inspired by the tanks and flyovers he saw during France's Bastille Day celebration when he visited Paris in July of last year. Mr Trump ordered the Pentagon to come up with plans for his own version, but they were eventually scrapped over concerns about costs and the damage tanks weighing many tons would do to the streets in Washington.
To follow how the day unfolded see our live coverage below
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Hello and welcome to The Independent's coverage of the US president's trip to Paris.
Donald Trump will presumably be only too glad to get away after the White House became embroiled in controversy over its decision to revoke the press pass of CNN reporter Jim Acosta, accused of shoving an intern at a heated question-and-answer session.
Accusations that footage of the incident was subsequently doctored to justify the decision have caused outrage and immediately overshadowed the Republicans' performance in the midterm elections.
The president is in France ahead of the Armistice Day centenary services on Remembrance Sunday, paying tribute to the fallen soldiers who lost their lives in the First World War, which came to an end precisely 100 years ago.
Donald Trump is among around 60 world leaders attending the commemorations in Paris.
The president and the first lady Melania Trump will visit two memorial sites to pay tribute to Americans who laid down their lives during the First World War.
According to the White House, "the visit will highlight the enduring relationship between the United States and France, and emphasize the important role of the United States in ensuring security in Europe and around the world."
Mr Trump is also due to hold a bilateral meeting with the French president Emmanuel Macron "to discuss opportunities to advance our shared security interests and promote fair and reciprocal economic ties."
Russian president Vladimir Putin will also be in Paris but it remains unclear whether he will meet Mr Trump over the weekend.
The Kremlin indicated the pair would meet briefly during a "working lunch" at the Elysee Palace on 11 November while the US president said they would "probably not" meet until the G20 summit in Argentina at the end of the month.
Families of those killed when flight MH-17 was shot down over Ukraine have called on Mr Trump to press Mr Putin for answers over the 2014 air disaster.
The US has already invited Mr Putin to Washington for talks in early 2019.
In Paris Donald Trump will also be reunited with the baby blimp that was flown in London in July.
The inflatable is expected to be part of a protest at the Place de la Republique on 11 November. Its organisers say that inviting the US President to the Armistice commemorations "is an insult that we refuse to accept" because he is "waging war against us all".
The convoy carrying Theresa May and the Belgan prime minister Charles Michel has been involved in a crash, according to reports.
It is thought that the collision involved an outrider vehicle rather than the prime minister's car.
Ms May is visiting war cemeteries in Belgium and France alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel. They began with a visit to the St Symphorien Military Cemetery in Mons on Friday morning.
Two policemen were injured in the accident but the prime ministers were unharmed, according to Belgian media reports.
It happened as convoy travelled from the St Symphorien Military Cemetery to NATO headquarters in the village of Casteau.
Two motorcyclists collided after another vehicle entered the convoy and the Belgian prime minister asked his driver to stop so they could check on the injured officers, it was reported in De Standaard.
A spokesman for the Belgian prime minister described it as a "regrettable accident". The police officers were taken to hospital.
The meeting between Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump comes at a time of increasing tension between the US and Europe.
One dispute centres on the nuclear deal with Iran, which the EU has vowed to support despite Mr Trump's decision to impose new sanctions.
In August the US president warned that "anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States".
And following Mr Trump's decision to pull out of a nuclear disarmament treaty with Russia, Mr Macron has called for the creation of a European army to defend itself from "China, Russia and even the United States of America."
Both leaders are under pressure domestically, with Mr Trump attempting to remain defiant despite the losing Congress to the Democrats and Mr Macron's popularity in France sinking to a new low.
Downing Street has said that Theresa May was not involved in the traffic accident in Belgium.
Ms May was travelling in a car at the front of the motorcade at the time of the collision and would not have seen it, according to a spokesman for the Belgian prime minister.
She is currently having a working lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron in Albert and is due to lay a wreath at the Thiepval Memorial this afternoon.
The accident happened when a motorist attempted to overtake the motorcade before veering back across into the middle of the convoy, causing two outriders to lose control and hit the car carrying the Belgian prime minister, it is claimed.
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