Tourists disappointed over closure of Versailles Palace amid preparations for Trump-Macron dinner

(17 Jun 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Versailles , France - 17 June 2026 1. Wide of tourists outside the closed gates of the Palace of Versailles 2. Wide of tourists taking photos near the Louis XIV statue 3. Wide of tourists and police vehicle outside the gates 4. Police vehicle parked in front of gates 5. Police vehicle 6. Various of palace with tourists 7. Wide of tourists walking outside the Palace of Versailles 8. SOUNDBITE (English) Ben Olson, US tourist from Minnesota, standing next to his girlfriend 25-year old Amelie Gruell, also from Minnesota: "It was about an hour of a trip. We came out here expecting to be able to go inside . Unfortunately that is not the case today as we learned upon our arrival , so it's quite unfortunate that we showed up expecting to be able to go in that way I guess we'll walk around town a little bit, but we'll just have to head back to Paris." 9. Wide of tourists gathering outside historic landmark 10. Wide of tourists outside gates posing for photos 11. SOUNDBITE (English) Ben Olson, US tourist from Minnesota: "I don't know what they're going to talk about (Trump and Macron) . I don't know what the relationship is like. Personally , I dislike Trump , so it's even more disappointing that that's the reason it's closed today, but yeah, that's all I have to say about that ." UPSOUND (English) Amelie Gruell, US tourist from Minnesota: "I'd emphasize that." 12. Gruell and Olson walking away 13. Exterior of palace and French flag STORYLINE: Hours before US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron were scheduled to meet for dinner at the Palace of Versailles, southwest of Paris, tourists unaware of the event were left stranded outside its closed gates, unable to visit the glittering palace. As they learned, the attraction was closed to visitors as preparations were underway to welcome the French and American heads of state. It took 25-year-old Ben Olson and his girlfriend, Amanda Gruell, both from Minnesota, an hour to get from Paris to Versailles, only to learn they would not be able to enter. "I don't know what they're going to talk about," Olson said of Trump and Macron. "I don't know what the relationship is like. Personally, I dislike Trump, so it's even more disappointing that that's the reason it's closed today," he added. Macron's office said the French president was hosting Trump for a dinner marking the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, calling it "a historic symbol of Franco-American friendship." The dinner will also provide an opportunity for the two presidents to continue discussions initiated at the G7 summit in Evians-les-Bains that ends Wednesday. Located southwest of Paris, the palace was the residence of French kings from the reign of Louis XIV through Louis XVI. It regularly hosts heads of state and foreign dignitaries. Macron hosted King Charles III and Queen Camilla there in 2023 during the king's state visit to France. The dinner was held in the Hall of Mirrors, one of the most celebrated rooms among the palace's 2,300 rooms. In 2017, before his relationship with Vladimir Putin deteriorated following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the newly elected Macron hosted the Russian president at the palace. Trump arrived in France after celebrating his 80th birthday with a prime-time mixed martial arts event on the White House lawn. AP Video shot by Emma Carmichael AP Production by Masha Macpherson and Emma Carmichael =========================================================== Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...