Parisians Divided Over Trump’s Planned Bastille Day Visit

President Donald Trump will travel to France for the Bastille Day military celebrations on July 14, President Emmanuel Macron’s office said, in a sign the allies are seeking to bolster ties despite differences over climate change.

The French presidency and White House said Trump had accepted an invitation to make the visit, which will also commemorate the U.S. entry into World War One 100 years ago.

“The two leaders will further build on the strong counter-terrorism cooperation and economic partnership between the two countries,” the White House said in a statement.

Macron appears to be broadly aligning his foreign policy with U.S. priorities of tackling terrorism while seeking better ties with Russia.

The announcement of the presidential visit sparked mixed reactions amongst French MPs, after the two leaders publicly clashed when Trump said he would pull out of a global accord on action to combat climate change.

MP for the far left “France Unbowed” party, Alexis Corbiere, said that he did not view the visit in a good light.

An MP for Macron’s party “The Republic on the Move”, Matthieu Orphelin, said that the visit should could help in convincing the U.S. president about the “reality of climate change.”

Trump will likely revel in a ceremony laden with pageantry and military pomp, with U.S. soldiers marching down the Champs Elysees boulevard beside French servicemen.

Bastille Day commemorates the storming by crowds on July 14, 1789 of the prison where the monarchy’s opponents were held, during the start of the French Revolution.