France's President Emmanuel Macron holds a video meeting gathering EU 27 leaders following his meeting with US President, at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris, France, 26 February 2025;
Credit: Ludovic Marin/Pool via Reuters/File Photo
BERLIN (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron and Germany's conservative chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz agreed during a meeting in Paris to open a new chapter in Franco-German relations, a source close to Merz told Reuters.
"There was a great deal of agreement and numerous starting points for joint initiatives," the source said, adding that there had been a friendly atmosphere during their meeting at the Elysee Palace on Wednesday 26 February 2025.
Macron, who met US President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday 25 February 2025, briefed EU leaders on the outcome of the talks earlier on Wednesday.
Merz, whose conservatives came first in a snap election last week, is expected to attempt to form a coalition with the third-placed Social Democrats of Germany's current chancellor, Olaf Scholz.
Merz has repreatedly said that Europe must unite in the face of a second Trump administration and must quickly establish an independent defence capability.
