President Emmanuel Macron's campaign for a "French Renaissance" kicked into overdrive Monday as his government welcomed 140 multinational business leaders before this week's jamboree of the rich and powerful in Davos.

US President Donald Trump will travel to Davos as planned this week for a meeting of elites from the worlds of politics and business, after the Senate reached a compromise deal to end a government shutdown.

The global economy and geopolitical tensions are taking a back seat to a more immediate problem at this year's Davos summit of political and business leaders: heavy snow is burying the venue.