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The last visit of a French president to Germany was in 2000, by Jacques Chirac. A long time for two countries that feel so closely connected. But this long pause has no political significance. The heads of government and ministers of the two countries meet regularly once every few months.
During a state visit in the foreground is not politics, but the meeting with the country and its people. The host is not the chancellor, but the German president. Apart from Berlin, the visiting stations of the presidential couple will also be Dresden and Münster, where Macron will be honored with the Westphalian International Peace Prize.
In fact, Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron's visit to Germany was planned for last July, but the president canceled it due to the unrest in France. Things aren't much quieter for Macron now either: European elections are approaching, and according to polls, Marine Le Pen's populist right-wing Rassemblement National party is likely to become the strongest party in France.
In addition, a survey for the Eurobarometer in February showed a clear fatigue of the French with the EU. According to the study, the European Parliament enjoys the lowest reputation in France among all 27 EU countries, and precisely in the country where the parliament meets and which, together with Germany, is considered the driving force of the EU.
Macron: "Europe can die"
"Our Europe can die" - with these words a month ago at the Sorbonne University in Paris, Macron asked for more sovereignty and common defense for Europe. It is not the first time that Macron draws up grand European political visions. He did this in 2017 by looking for a European finance minister. Then it was rejected by the Christian Democratic chancellor Angela Merkel. This time Olaf Scholz evaluated the "positive impulses" of the speech about Europe in X, but without giving concrete answers.
We are also dealing with different mentalities, thinks Marc Ringel, director of the German-French Institute in Ludwigsburg, in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The visions are "a very French way of explaining the point of view on things, which you don't find in Germany," he tells DW. (Former chancellor) "Helmut Schmidt said: "Anyone who has visions should go to the doctor". I think this is the prudent German version".
German loyalty to the alliance - French autonomy
But even in many specific issues there are currently visible political differences: Paris is for the use of nuclear energy, Berlin has also closed the last reactors, despite the lack of energy. Macron did not exclude peace troops in the Ukraine war, Scholz categorically rejects. Plans for a German-French tank and military aircraft progress very slowly. Macron wants Germany to place orders with European companies for its armament plans, why not French ones, Germany prefers to buy from the Americans.
"Defense has always been a difficult issue between Germany and France, because at this point we have different security cultures", says Marc Ringel. "On the German side, we have very close ties with NATO", on the other hand, it is "autonomy strategic, that France wants this".
Scholz in French, Macron in German
German-French relations have not been worse for decades, Friedrich Merz, head of the main opposition CDU party, complained recently. Merz also spoke of a "rift" between Scholz and Macron in support for Ukraine. At a joint conference on this topic in March, tensions were evident.
But Scholz and Macron, at least outwardly, want to show the world that they understand each other. In a short video they try this in each other's language. Macron reads a question on platform X, Scholz answers instead of Macron - in French: "Bonjour chers amis, je vous le confirme, vive l'amitié franco-allemande!" ("Hello dear friends, I confirm to you, long live Franco-German friendship!") Macron then says in German: "Danke, Olaf, ich stimme Dir sehr zu." (Thanks, Olaf, I totally agree with you).
What about the German-French friendship between the citizens of both countries, beyond holiday trips and red wine? Marc Ringel cites a March study from Infratest. "It shows that Germans' approval of France as a partner country remains high. Over 80 percent of Germans say that France is a reliable partner, much higher approval than for any other partner. The same is true of also reflected in France."/DW
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