PARIS — It may be one of Emmanuel Macron’s last major foreign policy triumphs as France’s leader: luring U.S. President Trump to a historic night in Versailles, where he signed an initial deal to end the Iran war.
But that wasn’t the only memorable moment Mr. Macron had this week at a G7 summit where the experience and networks he has built over nearly 10 years as president bore fruit.
Perhaps the most remarkable feat was getting Mr. Trump to more forcefully back Ukraine in its war with Russia — a win for European leaders and for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following his diplomatic disaster at the White House in March 2025.
“Bravo,” Mr. Macron said after Mr. Trump signed the Iran war agreement. The signing came as a surprise to most of the officials and other guests at the Versailles Palace dinner, and they responded with a round of applause.
Mr. Macron had said the dinner was intended as a celebration of French-American friendship. The unannounced signing ceremony transformed it into a symbolic finale to Mr. Macron’s weeklong effort to get Mr. Trump more aligned with Europe — perhaps his last big achievements before the end of his term next spring.
Mr. Macron had presented Versailles as an “instrument of influence” and suggested the invitation could help keep Mr. Trump engaged through the end of the G7 summit held in Evian. Mr. Trump left last year’s gathering in Canada before it had concluded.
The Palace of Versailles, which Mr. Trump praised as “not gold leaf,” has been a venue for French leaders to honor visiting guests for more than three centuries.
After the signing, Mr. Macron praised the Iran agreement as one that “allows for putting an end to the conflict, that allows peace, that allows the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz” and will likely result in lower oil prices.
Mr. Macron, who was not involved in the Iran war negotiations, cannot claim success for Mr. Trump deciding to sign the deal. But he secured the historic location, helping to put Europe back into the frame of a war that the U.S. and Israel jointly launched without consulting Western allies.
French Economy Minister Roland Lescure, who attended the dinner, described the signing as largely improvised.
Mr. Trump said in his remarks that he was going to sign the agreement, Mr. Lescure said. Asked whether Mr. Macron knew in advance, Lescure said he believed Mr. Trump had informed the French president shortly beforehand.
“But for us, ministers in the French government, it was a surprise,” he told French radio RTL.
Mr. Macron has at times expressed caution about Mr. Trump’s shifting positions, particularly regarding Russia and President Vladimir Putin. But European officials argued that this week’s written commitments represented a more durable position because the language had been approved by Mr. Trump himself.
“America is with us on Ukraine. That is very important,” Mr. Macron said after Mr. Trump joined a three-way phone call with Mr. Zelenskyy from Versailles.
G7 leaders agreed in a joint statement to increase deliveries of air-defense systems and long-range weapons for Ukraine. They also pledged to increase pressure on Russia through stronger sanctions, including measures targeting the country’s oil and gas sectors.
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