Macron and Merz will use Friday's joint government meeting to push ahead with other defence initiatives, including nuclear deterrence cooperation
France and Germany will seek to move on from the failure of a tortured fighter jet project and bolster other joint defence plans – including nuclear deterrence – at a joint government meeting on Friday.
After one-on-one discussions over dinner on Thursday evening at Bensberg Castle in the town of Bergisch Gladbach, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will chair Friday’s annual meeting, held this time near Cologne.
Speaking to the press before their meeting, the two men struck a warm note, with Macron thanking “my friend the chancellor” for coming to Bastille Day celebrations in Paris earlier this week.
“Whether it concerns investments, innovation, or trade protection… in recent months we have seen a genuine Franco-German convergence,” Macron said.
