Macron and Merz hope for new chapter in Franco-German relations

Paris/Berlin – French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that he is hoping for a revitalisation of Franco-German relations after a new government took office in Berlin.

Turning to new Chancellor Friedrich Merz and addressing him as “dear Friedrich,” the French president said at the Élysée Palace: “I am delighted that you have granted me the honour of beginning your mandate here in Paris.”

“We want to act together on the issues that we consider to be priorities: Sovereignty, security, competitiveness,” Macron added, stressing that the most important responsibility for France and Germany was to maintain Europe’s security.

Macron, who is said to have struggled to get along with Merz’s social democratic predecessor Olaf Scholz, stressed that 62 years after the signing of the Élysée Treaty on Franco-German cooperation, the partnership should be given new impetus.

The French president said he and Merz agreed that European ambitions were only realistic if Berlin and Paris coordinated their economic and social reforms, adding the two sides were looking to work hand in hand on defence, energy, investment and space travel.

Shortly after his appointment as chancellor on Tuesday, Merz said he wanted to be more active in foreign policy than previous chancellors.

“The world is in such disarray that a German chancellor must focus more on foreign policy and European policy than in the past, much more than in past decades,’ he said in an interview on ARD television.

New German Foreign Minister Johann Wedepohl also indicated that the goal for Germany is to take on a larger role in European affairs.

“[We will make it clear] that we can set the pace again in Europe, that we can become a source of ideas,” he said shortly before departing to Paris with Merz earlier on Wednesday. (7 May)