The meal, set to take place in the gilded Hall of Mirrors, marks a notable diplomatic gesture from Macron, who has sought to balance public friction with Trump against back-channel efforts to maintain transatlantic ties.
The confirmation came after the White House had declined for nearly a week to say whether Trump would attend the dinner, which is scheduled for the evening following the conclusion of the G7 meetings in Biarritz. French officials had extended the invitation as a symbol of the两国’ enduring alliance, but Trump’s aides had privately debated the optics of a lavish banquet at a time when the president has been pressing allies on trade and defense spending.
The dinner at the 17th-century château, a UNESCO World Heritage site, will be the first time Trump has dined at Versailles since taking office. Macron, who hosted Trump at the Bastille Day military parade in Paris in 2017, has used such settings to project French grandeur while engaging the American president on issues ranging from climate policy to Iran’s nuclear program.
The White House did not release details about the menu or the guest list, though French officials have indicated the dinner will be a small, private affair involving the two leaders and their spouses. First Lady Melania Trump is expected to attend, according to a person familiar with the planning.
The decision to attend the dinner comes as Trump has publicly clashed with Macron over trade tariffs and the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate accord. Yet the two leaders have maintained a cordial personal relationship, with Macron often employing what aides describe as a “charm offensive” to keep channels of communication open.
French diplomats have framed the dinner as an opportunity for the two leaders to discuss global security challenges, including the situation in Iran and the war in Ukraine, in a more informal setting than the structured G7 sessions. “It is a chance for a real conversation, not a scripted one,” a French official said on condition of anonymity.
The G7 summit, which begins on August 24 in the coastal resort of Biarritz, will focus on inequality, climate change, and digital taxation. Trump’s attendance at the Versailles dinner, which follows the summit’s closing ceremonies, underscores the symbolic weight Macron places on personal diplomacy with a president who has often upended traditional diplomatic norms.
