Berlin welcomed the election result in France with relief, with Olaf Solz being the first to congratulate the re-elected Macron. Critical next time for Franco-German friendship.
Relief, a big “Ugh”, as the newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung writes, is the feeling that prevails today in Berlin after the re-election of Emmanuel Macron in the French Presidency. This is a victory for Europe. The first leader to congratulate Emmanuel Macron by telephone, immediately after the first results, was German Chancellor Olaf Solz.
The two leaders reaffirmed their intention to continue Franco-German cooperation, especially now that the challenges posed by the Russian offensive war are great. Government spokesman Stephen Hempstreet even announced that a Solz-Macron meeting was imminent. After all, traditionally the first visit of the French president is to Berlin – as well as the opposite.
“Victory of Europe”
“I am pleased that the majority of French voters support your pro-European course. Your re-election is good news for us Germans as well.” This was the message of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on the re-election of Macron. “Europe is a big winner,” said Finance Minister and Liberal leader Christian Lindner, while the leader of the Christian Democrats, Friedrich Mertz, spoke of a “victory for a united Europe.”
“All of Europe, and especially Germany, has breathed a sigh of relief. The European Union will escape a critical test and Franco-German relations will survive an existential crisis,” said Michael Roth, a Social Democrat who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee. Only Tino Chroupala, the leader of the AfD ethno-populists, congratulated Marin Lepen on the “significant” increase in her percentage, calling Macron’s victory “fictitious”.
At the center of the “Franco-German axis” is the Ukrainian
The next day, however, for the old “Franco-German axis” remains difficult and full of challenges, with the first concern of the Elysee Palace and the chancellery being the creation of a strong, common front against Putin, but also the independence of Europe from Russian energy. It also remains to be seen what stance Germany will eventually take on the issue of sending heavy weapons to Ukraine, at a time when France has already announced the deployment of anti-tank missiles and state-of-the-art artillery.
But beyond the war in Ukraine, commentators in Germany are standing on another point that could affect Franco-German relations in the long run: the fact that the day after the election France appears divided within itself, with two out of five French people supporting it. Le Pen’s “retouched” far right.
The future of the French presidency in the post-Macron era, however, seems already ominous to many, given that according to the French Constitution the maximum period of stay in the presidency is two five-year terms. For the time being the traditional, neo-Golic right appears fragmented and the Socialists unable to stand on their own two feet. The regulators of the political game will continue to be Marin Le Pen, but also the Left Jean-Luc Melanson, data that should be taken into account in the long run by Berlin.
Dimitra Kyranoudi Berlin
Source: Deutsche Welle
Source: Capital
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