Why was President Biden not in Paris?
Last weekend, the eyes of the world were on Paris, where numerous heads of government and state attended a ceremony for the opening of the Notre-Dame cathedral. US President Joe Biden was absent.
Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Emmanuel Macron, Prince William...: these are just a small sample of the many celebrities present at the reopening of Notre-Dame, the cathedral in Paris that was largely destroyed by a fire five years ago.
US President Joe Biden was not present, his successor Donald Trump was. The First Lady Jill Biden did attend. At a White House press conference last week, Joe Biden's spokeswoman was asked why Biden did not travel to Paris.
‘The First Lady will attend and that is part of her extended trip to Italy, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. She will represent the Biden administration,’ White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre said last week.
‘President Joe Biden and his wife were both invited. There was scheduling conflict, which is why he decided not to attend’ the spokeswoman replied rather evasively.
(Fausto by Tagtik/Source: whitehousegov/Illustration picture: DPA picture alliance/dpa/MAXPPP | Olivier Corsan)