Press
It is the first visit of this kind by a French president in 24 years. There is much to discuss with his colleagues in Germany.
Berlin – The last French president to make a state visit to Germany was Jacques Chirac. At that time, Gerhard Schröder was still chancellor. Now Emmanuel Macron to Berlin. The three-day visit from May 26 to 28, however, is marked by dissonances.
According to host Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the visit is intended to highlight and celebrate the uniqueness of the German-French friendship. The Federal President and Macron also want to use the visit to encourage the people of Germany to European elections This is not least due to the concern that low voter turnout, as experience shows, right-wing parties plays into the hands.
Paris and Berlin argue – arbitration in Meseberg?
As well as the two heads of state get along with each other, relations between Berlin and Paris are currently considered somewhat difficult at the government level. There is always friction between the two capitals on key issues. This applies to the question of the right support for Kyiv in the Ukraine War as well as the question of economic policy orientation towards competitors USA and China.
A delivery of long-range Taurus cruise missiles to the Ukraine Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), for example, rejects this idea. France, on the other hand, has been preparing its scalp rockets for some time. In return, Berlin accuses Paris, as the second largest economy in the world, of EU overall, far too little to do for Ukraine.
These and other questions are to be discussed after the state visit at a German-French Council of Ministers on Tuesday afternoon in Meseberg Castle, the guest house of the Federal Government, north of Berlin.
Merz criticizes Scholz ahead of Macron’s visit to Berlin
Meanwhile, CDU chairman Friedrich Merz criticized the fact that relations between the two countries are worse than they have been for decades. He explained that Macron had received no response from Berlin to his two major European speeches at the Sorbonne University in Paris. “That was met with great irritation in Paris, and rightly so, across all parties,” Merz told the broadcaster rbbThe first speech took place during the government of Angela Merkel (CDU).
In his second speech in April, Macron warned that there was a great risk that Europe would be “weakened or even downgraded” in the next decade. He called, among other things, for a European defence strategy with a common arms industryScholz commented on the speech on Platform X by saying that the common goal of France and Germany is “that Europe remains strong”. He added, addressing Macron: “Your speech contains good ideas on how we can achieve this.”
Macron in Dresden: Observers expect speech on Putin
Europe will also be the topic of discussion on Macron’s second day of the visit. He and his wife will travel on to Dresden with their hosts. There, Macron plans to give another speech on European politics in front of the Frauenkirche. There is speculation that Macron could use the opportunity here, not far from the border with the Czech Republic, to focus on the Eastern European partners.
There is great concern among them that they will be the next victims of the expansionist policies of Kremlin chief Wladimir Putin On Tuesday, the trip continues to Münster, where Macron will be awarded the International Peace of Westphalia Prize. Steinmeier will give the laudatory speech. (dpa/AFP/frs)
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