France’s President Criticizes Trump Over Paris Remarks
Mr. Trump pinned his assertions on a friend named "Jim," who he said had stopped going to Paris
because "Paris is no longer Paris." Mr. Trump said his friend had stopped traveling to the French capital four or five years ago, which was before the terrorist attacks there occurred.
"I wouldn’t do that to an ally and I would ask that the American president not do
that with regard to France." Mr. Hollande was responding to remarks Mr. Trump made on Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, in which he implied that Europe’s open borders had led to the terrorist attacks there.
Take a look at Nice and Paris," said Mr. Trump, who preceded these comments by saying: "We fully understand
that national security begins with border security." Mr. Trump continued: "I have a friend, he’s a very, very substantial guy.
25, 2017
PARIS — The usually mild-mannered president of France pointedly reproached President Trump on Saturday after Mr. Trump commented on the dangers of terrorism
in Paris, reminding the American leader of a cardinal rule in diplomacy: If you want to keep your friends, don’t criticize them in public.
Mr. Hollande refrained from walking Mr. Trump through France’s tourism statistics.
However, Mr. Trump is correct that terrorism has an impact on tourism.
In 2016 data released earlier this week by the Paris regional tourism board, there was another
drop in tourism, with 1.5 million fewer visitors, a 4.7 percent decrease from 2015.