French Press: “Sees” problems in France-Germany relations in wake of Macron-Soltz meeting

In the wake of the almost four-hour working lunch of the French president Emmanuel Macron with the German chancellor Olaf Solz yesterday in Paris, today’s French Press highlights the problems that exist in France-Germany relations and their implications at EU level.

The newspaper Les Echos he emphasizes that beyond the usual smiles, the absence of a joint statement is a sign of discomfort and testifies to the irritation that has accumulated in France, ten months after the enthronement of the new chancellor. The article highlights the opinion of the conservative German newspaper “FAZ” on Wednesday, that “the indifference of the German governing coalition towards France is worrying” and that it “behaves like an elephant in the European china shop”.

According to the French newspaper, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has degraded the Franco-German duo, to which Paris is so attached. Germany’s differences over the European defense plan are pointed out, but also Solz’s decision to allow, albeit limited, Chinese participation in a terminal in the port of Hamburg shows, as noted, “the chancellor’s lack of strategic vision ».

In Paris, there is fear that, due to a lack of agreement on the concept of European sovereignty, these decisions will weigh on the Franco-German couple and the EU, but also that the war in Ukraine has turned Germany’s attention to the countries of Eastern Europe, of which wishes to redeem its Russian blindness so far, notes the French newspaper.

Echos also reports that “the chancellor’s blunt approach is already weakening the French president, who, without an absolute majority in Parliament, faces an opposition increasingly critical of Germany.”

Whether the Franco-German duo still exists in an explosive geopolitical context is also questioned by the newspaper Le Figaro, in which the growing signs of friction show very deep divisions.

However, the Gaspar Schnitzler, researcher at the IRIS institutebelieves that despite any disagreements, “the two men are doing quite well, although Solz is more pragmatic and less communicative and emotional than Macron.” According to Schnitzler, “there may be frictions, but we should not blacken the picture”, as “many things work anyway, such as economic cooperation, transport or education”.

“We are in a very French-French conversation. To speak of a “couple” is very French. Germans talk more about “friendship” or “agreement”, analyzes in the same newspaper Professor Patrick Marten Genier, who estimates that the Franco-German couple began to falter when Merkel took power in 2005, as “from that moment on Germany wanted to defend its own interests, favoring the relationship with Russia at the expense of that with France.”

They are also highlighted the very different economic, political and trade union cultures of the two countries, but also the different way of governing, regarding which Zenier notes: “Soltz decides nothing by himself, he is the head of a large coalition and he only executes one contract. Every decision must be discussed with his allies. It distances them from the French, but brings them closer, because of their function, to the European Union.”

Finally, according to Le Monde newspaper, “one of the cruel paradoxes” of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is that the return of war to the continent complicates the search for “European sovereignty”. The geopolitical context justifies Macron’s agenda, but the quest for European sovereignty will not necessarily be carried out according to French views, Thierry Chopin, a special adviser at the Delors Institute in Paris, told the newspaper. According to him, the “change of era” advocated by Solz at the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, with the creation of a special fund of 100 billion euros for the modernization of the German army, shows that Berlin has means that France does not have. Hence the fear, in Paris, of a new delay, especially on the military and economic front. This concern is all the more acute as Germany sees its position as a hub country in the center of Europe strengthened, especially in the event of further enlargement towards the Balkans or even Ukraine, while France fears being marginalized in the West side of the continent. “This burst of tension may also be an admission of weakness on the part of Paris,” adds Chopin.

Another difficulty, according to the newspaper, is that the longer the war lasts, the more the balance of power inside the European Union changes. The power of the Franco-German couple is being challenged as never before by the states of Central Europe, the Baltics and Scandinavia. For them, Paris and Berlin have made many mistakes in their relations with Moscow and are too timid in their support for Kyiv. The countries that came from the Soviet bloc are gaining influence and no longer hesitate to make their voices heard, although they are not driving forces, adds Monde.

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