Media: France aims to “dazzle” Trump with Versailles private dinner

French President Emmanuel Macron is considering one of the grandest displays of French statecraft in his diplomatic arsenal: a private dinner with U.S. President Donald Trump at the Palace of Versailles.

The Elysée Palace is preparing a dinner for two in the opulent residence of the Sun King Louis XIV to coincide with the summit of the Group of Seven leading economies later this month, according to two French officials familiar with the preparations told Politico.

The big idea would be to play on Trump’s penchant for gaudy gilded interiors to help guarantee the U.S. president remains engaged on the core issues preoccupying Europe, such as Russia’s war in Ukraine and the economic impact of the conflict in Iran.

Trump is due to visit the Alpine spa resort of Évian-les-Bains on June 15–17 at a moment of heightened tensions, with little prospect of a U.S.-Iran breakthrough in sight.

The president has promised he will fly to France after watching a series of cage fights on the White House lawn, but the French side is not taking anything for granted and wants to make sure he doesn’t pull out of the meeting early.

“I believe he’s just about confirmed for the G7,” said a person close to the French president.

Given Trump’s unpredictability, the person stressed that the dinner wasn’t confirmed and other options were available. “Everything is possible, there’s also a golf course at Evian.”

The Versailles dinner, if it happens, would take place on June 17, the summit’s final day, and would be a more of an intimate affair than the state banquet hosted for King Charles III, which drew nearly 200 guests.

“You need to dazzle him and suck up to him,” said a European official, noting that Macron and Trump “have already done the Eiffel Tower … What’s left, if not the Hall of Mirrors at the Versailles Palace?”

European leaders have observed that the most successful Trump visits have involved detours with royalty — preferably in palaces — such as dinner with the king and queen of the Netherlands during last year’s NATO summit in The Hague. Similarly, Trump appeared genuinely impressed by his royal welcome at Windsor Palace in the U.K.

By Sabina Mammadli