FILE- In this April 23, 2018, file photo, first lady Melania Trump, second from right, and Brigitte Macron, second from left, watch as President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron participate in a tree planting ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. The sapling, a gift from Macron on the occasion of his state visit, is gone from the lawn. A pale patch of grass was left in its place. The White House hasn't offered an explanation. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
The Associated Press
PARIS (AP) - The French president's office says there's nothing mysterious about the disappearance of an oak tree he planted on the White House lawn.
It was put in quarantine, like other plants or animals brought into U.S. territory.
The sapling was a gift from French President Emmanuel Macron for his state visit to U.S. President Donald Trump last week.
An official in Macron's office said Monday that Trump insisted on holding a symbolic planting ceremony alongside Macron despite the quarantine requirement. The official said both sides knew all along that the tree would go later into quarantine.
A pale patch of grass now covers the spot.
The oak originally sprouted at the World War I Battle of Belleau Wood in northern France, where about 2,000 U.S. troops died fighting a German offensive.
This Saturday, April 28, 2018, photo shows an empty area where a tree was planted by President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron during a tree planting ceremony is seen through the media van window on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Saturday, April 28, 2018. The young ceremonial tree was planted next to the light pole. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The Associated Press