BERLIN ( AP )– President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday started the first state visit to Germany by a French head of state in 24 years, a three-day journey meant to highlight the strong relationships between the German Union’s traditional major powers.
The visit was actually meant to take place next July but was postponed at the last moment due to violence in France following the killing of a 17-year-old by authorities.
While Macron is a frequent guest to Germany as Paris and Berlin try to arrange their posts on EU and international coverage, this is the first state visit with entire splendour since Jacques Chirac came in 2000. Macron and his wife, Brigitte, are being hosted by Germany ´s largely ceremonial leader, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
It is “proof of the level of the connection between France and Germany ” that Macron is visiting as Germany celebrates the 75th anniversary of its post-World War II law and before it marks the 35th commemoration in November of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Steinmeier said.
Steinmeier is holding a state dinner for Macron at his Bellevue house in Berlin on Sunday night before the two leaders travel on Monday to the northeast area of Dresden, where Macron may make a statement, and on Tuesday to Muenster in eastern Germany. The state visit may be followed after Tuesday by a conference between Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and officials from both places at a state guest house outside Berlin.
French President Emmanuel Macron ( L), his wife Brigitte Macron ( 2nd R), German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier ( 2nd L) and his wife Elke Buedenbender ( R ) react during a welcoming ceremony at Bellevue presidential palace in Berlin, Germany on May 26, 2024. The French leader pays a three-day state visit to Germany until May 28. ( Photo by RALF HIRSCHBERGER / AFP ) ( Photo by RALF HIRSCHBERGER/AFP via Getty Images )
Germany and France, which have the EU’s biggest markets, have long been viewed as the engine of European inclusion, though there have often been variations in coverage and importance between the two companions on a range of issues.
That was apparent earlier this year in various positions on whether Northern states may act out sending ground forces to Ukraine. Both countries are solid backers of Kyiv.
Macron on Sunday said there has usually been talk of issues in Franco-German relations over the decades, but “ France and Germany along have accomplished unusual things – they have been at the center of this Europe. ” He contrasted that with the countries ’ history of war against each other until 1945.
He renewed a warning that Europe could “die” if it fails to build its own robust defense as Russia’s war in Ukraine rages on, or if it fails to undertake major trade and economic reforms to compete with China and the U. S.
WW III Watch: Macron Recommits to Possibility of Sending Troops to Ukraine https ://t. co/9nDoD1jDon
— Breitbart London ( @BreitbartLondon ) May 4, 2024
