Trump, Jill Biden attend Notre Dame reopening

President-elect Trump and first lady Jill Biden attended the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, sitting in the same row during the ceremony.

The cathedral reopened on Saturday after it suffered a devastating fire in the spring of 2019, causing its spire and wooden latticework of its roof to collapse.

During the ceremony, Trump sat in the front row between French President Emmanuel Macron and French first lady Brigitte Macron. On the other side of the French first lady, Jill Biden sat with her daughter, Ashley Biden, to her right. Trump and Jill Biden were photographed speaking when Brigitte Macron wasn’t in her seat.

Macron spoke at the ceremony and the cathedral bells chimed for the first time since the fire five years ago. Firefighters who fought the fire when it occurred stood at the front of the cathedral and were cheered on by the crowd and “Merci” was lit up on the building.

Trump was greeted by the Macrons when he arrived for the ceremony, which was shortly after Trump, Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met at Élysée Palace.

Trump shook hands with Prince William inside the cathedral while going to his seat. The two are expected to meet after the ceremony, BBC reported.

Jill and Ashley Biden then arrived and were greeted by the Macrons. Macron gave the first lady a warm hug after she first embraced his wife.  The White House said Friday that President Biden couldn’t go due to a scheduling conflict. 

Other attendees included billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Much and former Secretary of State John Kerry. Trump and the first lady’s motorcades were parked next to each other at the cathedral, according to reporters traveling with Biden.

Following the ceremony, the Macrons hosted a reception at Élysée Palace.