French President Emmanuel Macron, left, welcomes a waving US President Donald Trump before their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Photo / AP
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, welcomes a waving US President Donald Trump before their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Photo / AP
President Trump's visit to Paris got off to a chaotic start after the leader was separated from his motorcade arriving from Paris airport on Thursday morning.
The tail end of the group of cars took a wrong turn, drove onto oncoming traffic and barely dodged pedestrians, with the media not able to document Trump's arrival to the US ambassador's residence.
Once things got back on track Trump travelled to meet US military members and the French President, Emmanuel Macron ahead of Bastille Day celebrations on Friday.
He was received with military honours at the Hotel des Invalides in Paris where the tombs of French World War I commander Marshal Ferdinand Foch and Napoleon Bonaparte lie.
Ahead of the visit local media speculated Trump's previous harsh criticism of France following recent terror attacks could come back to haunt him.
The profilic tweeter-in-chief has lashed France a number of times online saying police were "afraid to go into many communities" following the Charlie Hebdo attack in January 2015.
He has also used the terror attacks to highlight "weak leaders, ridiculous laws" and said "France is no longer France" due to the amount of immigration in the country.
Meanwhile President Macron said the Western world has been "cracking since the American election" and the US still needs France.
In comments published Thursday, Macron said "Europe is a necessity" after Trump expressed doubts about climate, the World Trade Organisation and multilateralism.
The visit is Trump's visit to France as leader and he will discuss terrorism and security issues in Africa with Macron.
It comes after the two leaders met at the G20 event in Hamburg last week, where Trump also held his first bilateral meeting with President Putin and said he confronted him about attempts to interfere in the US election.
Donald Trump previous tweets about Paris, following terror attacks there, could come back to haunt him. Photo / AP
The pair will also dine, with their wives, Melania Trump and Brigitte Trogneaux, at the Jules Verne restaurant on the second floor of the Eifell Tower. The menu could include sea bream, tiny artichokes and blue lobster - vastly different from Trump's standard fare of steaks and diet coke.
On Thursday, US First Lady Melania Trump visited Necker Hospital where she spoke to children in French, telling them they looked "very strong." Later in the day she will tour Notre Dame and the Seine river with the French First Lady.
FIRESTORM AT HOME
The meeting comes as the US leader is engulfed in a political storm unfolding at home after his son, Donald Junior, published emails showing he had clearly expressed interest in receiving "private and confidential" information regarding Hillary Clinton from what he thought was a Russian government source.
Donald Junior invited then campaign manager Paul Manafort and his brother-in-law Jared Kushner to the meeting. They later said the information did not come to pass and it proved to be a waste of time.
However the emails are the most direct link yet between purported Russian government sources and a member of Trump's immediate family. The Russian government claims to have no knowledge of the lawyer.
In the US, they have been described as a "Category 5 hurricane" with White House staffers blindsided by news of the meeting.
The President has doubled down to defend his son, saying he is "open, transparent and innocent.
"This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!" he tweeted.
n the US, they have been described as a "Category 5 hurricane" with White House staffers blindsided by news of the meeting.
The President has doubled down to defend his son, saying he is "open, transparent and innocent.
"This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad!" he tweeted.
Newly appointed FBI Director nominee Christopher Wray defended the investigation into the conduct of Trump's aides, saying he didn't not think it was a "witch hunt".
"I do not consider Director Mueller to be on a witch hunt," he said.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told politicians to "call the FBI" if they find themselves in the situation where a foreign power attempts to intervene in the election.
