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In France, Trump’s triumphal arch draws eye rolls, and echoes of Napoleon
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Conceived in 1806 by Napoleon as a tribute to military glory after the Battle of Austerlitz, the Arc de Triomphe has come to symbolise very different things in modern France.
PHOTO: DMITRY KOSTYUKOV/NYTIMES
Mark Landler
PARIS – For someone who regularly disparages France in matters of war and commerce, US President Donald Trump is not above appropriating its culture. In 2025, Mr Trump ordered up a military parade inspired by the Bastille Day celebration he was invited to watch in Paris in 2017 by President Emmanuel Macron.
Now, Mr Trump is pressing ahead with a plan to construct a triumphal arch in Washington that he envisions, among other things, as one-upping the Arc de Triomphe in the French capital. That has prompted jaded reactions in France, a land that is no stranger to political leaders afflicted with edifice complexes.
