President Donald Trump meets with French President Emmanuel Macron Monday afternoon in New York, just hours before this week’s United Nations General Assembly kicks off.
The face-to-face comes as France grapples with record-high fuel prices driven by soaring oil costs — fallout from the Iran-backed Houthi campaign against Saudi Arabia that’s pushed energy markets into crisis mode.
According to Le Monde, citing White House information, the two leaders are scheduled to sit down at 5:35 p.m. EST on the sidelines of the U.N. event. Macron flies directly to New York from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, a French archipelago off Newfoundland, where he met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney Sunday.
“THE FRENCH PRESIDENT WILL ALSO MEET WITH KEY GLOBAL PLAYERS IN THE FIELD OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, A TOPIC THAT PARIS HOPES WILL RECEIVE GREATER ATTENTION IN INTERNATIONAL FORUMS.”
The Trump-Macron meeting is one of dozens of bilateral talks scheduled as presidents and heads of state descend on New York for the 81st U.N. General Assembly session. High-level debates run September 22-28, with the official theme: “Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all.”
But Macron’s agenda reveals France’s real priorities. The Élysée Palace is arranging meetings between Macron and Middle Eastern leaders — including Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian — as Paris scrambles to address the oil shock hammering French consumers at the pump.
The energy crisis stems from ongoing hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthis, who’ve escalated attacks that sent oil prices spiking. France, heavily dependent on imported energy, is feeling the squeeze.
Macron also plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his New York stay. A French Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed France is convening a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine that will address Black Sea food security and grain exports.
The French leader is expected to deliver his U.N. General Assembly speech Tuesday, where he’ll advocate for what the Élysée Palace calls “effective multilateralism” — diplomacy “based on coalitions of states and actors capable of producing concrete results.”
Speaking at a Friday press briefing, Macron admitted the United Nations is presently “in trouble” and questioned the “effectiveness” of current multilateral action. The comment signals growing frustration among European leaders as the U.N. struggles to address the Middle East energy crisis, the war in Ukraine, and escalating global tensions.
Trump enters the meeting from a position of strength. His administration brokered multiple Middle East deals during his first term, and his return to the White House has already shifted the diplomatic landscape. Macron, meanwhile, faces mounting domestic pressure as fuel prices climb and his approval ratings slide.
The Monday sit-down will test whether the two leaders — who’ve sparred publicly in the past — can find common ground on energy security, Ukraine, and the future of international institutions both men have criticized as ineffective.
Macron and Carney to Hold Talks on Strengthening Canada-France Tieshttps://t.co/BoW8khjzoQ
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) September 20, 2026
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