A meeting between the leaders of the Normandy Four countries, which is dedicated to the settlement of the crisis in eastern Ukraine, began at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Monday.

In spite of the fact that the presidents of Russia, France, and Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, Emmanuel Macron, and Volodymyr Zelensky, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are meeting in Paris amid the nationwide strike and mass protests, which have swept over the French capital, the situation around the Elysee Palace remains calm, an Interfax correspondent reported. The police cordoned off the streets around the French presidential residence, but the life is routine outside this fenced area.