The French presidential couple arrived in Berlin for a rare state visit as guests of President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
President of France Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron arrived on Sunday for a rare visit to Germany.
Macron arrived for the three-day state visit of the German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier called.
Macron’s first stop was at the Democracy Festival in the company of Steinmeier. He warned of the decay of democratic ideals in both countries.
– A kind of idealization of absolute power is growing… We forget too often that (defending democracy) is a struggle, he said according to AFP.
The visit is rare, as the French president has been on a state visit to meet the German president for the last time 24 years ago. At that time the then President of France Jacques Chirac visited Berlin.
Macron has visited Germany several times to meet the Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Macron was supposed to meet Steinmeier already in July of last year, but the trip had to be postponed due to the riots in France.
A show of unity
According to experts, the purpose of the visit is to show unity in a Europe shadowed by the war in Ukraine, but it also has bilateral goals.
Relations between Germany and France have not always been very warm. For example, nuclear power is still a difficult issue. Germany shut down its last nuclear power plant last year, in stark contrast to France, which meets 70 percent of its electricity needs with nuclear power.
German authorities have also been troubled by Macron’s perceived ill-advised statements, such as insinuations that countries supporting Ukraine might consider sending their own troops to Ukraine’s aid. Disagreements among key EU countries over Ukraine’s defense have been feared to embolden Russia, which has recently expanded its offensive.
During his visit, Macron will also participate in various ceremonies commemorating, among other things, the reunification of East and West Germany. The presidents travel to Dresden in eastern Germany and Münster in the west, where the countries cooperate on technology or security.
Reuters