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Melania Trump’s sightseeing tour of Paris: What’s on the first lady’s agenda?

The first lady of the US will be joining her French counterpart to see some of the great sights of Paris but where will she be visiting?

Melania Trump's sightseeing tour of Paris: What's on the first lady's agenda?
Photo: AFP
During Donald Trump's visit to Paris to celebrate France's national day at the invitation of president Emmanuel Macron, it's not just the US president who will enjoy the red carpet treatment. 
 
First lady Melania Trump is being given the chance to enjoy the sights of Paris with none other than French “first lady” Brigitte Macron. 
 
It's all part of the French president's charm offensive to prove to Trump that “Paris is still Paris” and not some kind of no-go zone, as the US president has suggested in the past.
 
While their husbands are off discussing terrorism and trade in the Elysée Palace, the first ladies will be taking in some of the French capital's classic sites.
 
On Thursday's schedule is a visit to the iconic Notre-Dame Cathedral at 4.30pm, where the two will be welcomed by the clergy there, and at 5.30pm they'll take a trip down the Seine.
 
 
Although the pair won't be boarding one of the typical Bateaux-Mouches with hundreds of tourists. Instead they will be on a secured boat and a delegation of around ten people. 
 
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Photo: AFP
 
But while Melania's day might sound pretty impressive, she won't be experiencing quite as much of the French capital as she hoped to. 
 
The president's own security team asked that all the places visited by the US first lady should be closed to the public, something that was refused by the French services. 
 
This means that Melania won't have the chance to see the city's old artistic quarter, Montmartre, or the Musee D'Orsay, with these plans abandoned due to the restrictions put in place by US security.   
 
Earlier in the day, she will be by her husband's side for the official welcome at Invalides which will involve paying respects to the American flag as well as American and French hymns and a visit to Napoleon's tomb.
 
The US president and his wife will be then finish the evening on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower where they will dine with the Macron's at the plush Jules Vernes restaurant run by top French chef Alain Ducasse.
 
 
Macron to treat Trump to blue lobster in plush Eiffel Tower restaurant
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

AMBASSADOR

Trump’s ambassador to Denmark leaves country as president’s term ends

After three years as United States Ambassador to Denmark, Carla Sands has stepped down from the post and left Copenhagen.

Trump’s ambassador to Denmark leaves country as president’s term ends
Outgoing United States Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands. Photo: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix

The now-former ambassador confirmed she had taken leave of the Danish capital via Twitter.

US president Donald Trump’s term ends on Wednesday, with President-elect Joe Biden to be inaugurated at 6pm Danish time.

“It's been a privilege serving the Trump Administration for over 3 years as U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark. I’ve enjoyed promoting USA-Denmark-Faroe Islands-Greenland relations,” Sands tweeted.

“I have departed Copenhagen,” she added in a follow-up tweet.

In a video included in the tweets, Sands mentions her highlights of her time as ambassador. These include the re-opening of the US consulate in Greenland capital Nuuk alongside US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Sands, who took over as ambassador in 2017 after being appointed by Trump, is likely to be remembered as the incumbent at the time of Trump’s overtures towards purchasing Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Danish kingdom.

After Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen dismissed Trump’s suggestion that the United States could buy the Arctic territory from Denmark, the US president promptly cancelled an official visit to Denmark scheduled for September 2019.

Sands met with the Danish government on several occasions in an attempt to take the heat out of a potential diplomatic dispute.

READ ALSO: Danes pour scorn on Trump after state visit postponement

More recently, Sands was criticised for tweeting an incorrect claim that her own vote had not been counted in the country's general election.

The ambassador posted on her personal Twitter account a screenshot which she claimed showed her absentee ballot in the state of Pennsylvania had not been registered. She also made several other posts on the site following the US election in support of Trump's baseless claims of election fraud.

Several other Twitter users – as well as the New York Times – looked up Sands' vote on the Pennsylvania state government website and found it was in fact registered.

READ ALSO: US ambassador to Denmark makes incorrect Twitter claim about own vote

After a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in Washington DC on January 6th, Sands was officially contacted by foreign minister Jeppe Kofod. The minister called for Trump to concede defeat in the election and ensure a peaceful transition of power.

Newspaper Berlingske reported that this was the first time in history that a Danish foreign minister had officially protested over internal affairs in the United States.

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