Macron, Trump, Zelensky Meet In Paris

Macron, Trump, Zelensky Meet In Paris

President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday was hosting three-way talks with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky and US President-elect Donald Trump in Paris.

Trump held talks with the French leader inside the Elysee Palace ahead of the re-opening ceremony for Notre Dame cathedral, with Zelensky then arriving and immediately joining them.

The trio posed for a picture but made no further public comment before starting the talks.

Meanwhile, as France prepares for deepening political turmoil after a parliamentary vote on Wednesday that toppled the government, one thing was clear: The paralysis risked unleashing a fresh wave of distress across one of Europe’s biggest economies.

Business leaders, who had been grappling with uncertainty for months, say they are bracing for a hit to growth. Unions warn of widening layoffs.

Thousands of civil servants, including teachers, hospital staff, airport employees and workers in the gas and electricity sectors, are planning street protests across the country for Thursday.

France’s economy was already in a rough patch when a deeply divided Parliament backed a vote of no-confidence in Prime Minister Michel Barnier, ousting him and his cabinet and leaving the country without a functioning government or a budget for next year to rein in France’s troubled finances.

Mr. Barnier is likely to remain as a caretaker until President Emmanuel Macron appoints a new prime minister, and France will use the 2024 budget until a new one can be assembled. In the meantime, the government’s collapse “will make everything more serious and more difficult” for France, he said in a speech to Parliament before the vote.