Exactly sixty years after the embrace between French President Charles de Gaulle and Chancellor Konrad Adenaur, their counterparts Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz repeated the same in Paris to perpetuate the Franco-German European axis. European journalist Stefan de Vries defines the forced hug. “Macron and Scholz don’t get along.”
Despite the artificial embrace, there was no shortage of words during the Franco-German summit at the Sorbonne in Paris. At every turn in Europe, Germany and France have united, Germany and France are pioneers and are two souls in one body, sums up Macron’s warm words De Vries. Scholz also received many compliments on the close relationship between the two countries, but nevertheless he “seemed contrived”.
No chemistry
According to De Vries, Macron and Scholz don’t get along. How different it was under Scholz’s predecessor, Merkel, who got along very well with her counterpart Sarkozy, as well as with her successor Macron. ‘There is almost no personal chemistry with Scholz and there are many disagreements: European defence, energy, the role of NATO’.
But something else is also at stake: the war in Ukraine and that country’s candidacy for the EU is shifting the center of power in Europe eastward. Berlin is an hour’s drive from the Polish border, so France is losing importance to Germany and moving towards the periphery. “France has to find a new role, there are frictions on all kinds of points.”
Leclerc
Where Germany and France meet: in their fear of escalating the war by supplying tanks. However, France wants to supply Kiev with Leclerc tanks, the French equivalent of the Leopard. Otherwise, both countries are polar opposites, but are locked in a marriage of convenience. They know that there is no other choice but to work together in the interest of Europe. There is no other way, otherwise there would be no Europe. It’s a marriage of convenience.”
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
