BERLIN — French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged Friday to reach deals on an ambitious slate of topics before year’s end, but the duo cast their urgency as a matter of economic survival rather than a bid to safeguard the Franco-German relationship from a Marine Le Pen presidency.
Speaking at the end of two days of Franco-German meetings, the leaders of the EU’s two biggest economies said they were expediting work on agreements to confront the glut of subsidized Chinese exports flooding the single market; finalize the bloc’s next seven-year budget, known as the Multiannual Financial Framework; and build a U.S.-style capital markets union between member countries.
Both leaders suggested that without drastic action, Europe’s sputtering economy could nosedive, especially in the face of American and Chinese competition.
“The implementation plan has to move as quickly as possible and as vigorously as possible,” Macron said. “This is crucial for us — it is vital — just as it is for Europe.”
Merz underscored that urgency. “Work between Germany and France is essential at a time when Russia threatens our security, when the People’s Republic of China poses a challenge to our economy and when the transatlantic partnership is no longer taken for granted,” the German leader said.
The prospect of France’s next president coming from the far-right National Rally has cast a shadow over Franco-German relations for months.
EU countries last year began racing to get a deal done on the MFF by the end of 2026 over fears that Le Pen, a Euroskeptic who has vowed to drastically slash Paris’ contributions to the EU budget, could win France’s 2027 presidential elections. Surveys currently place Le Pen as the front-runner.
When asked about the possibility of a far-right successor undoing the agreements struck Thursday and Friday, Macron said “be wary of polls,” citing his experience as a dark-horse candidate who was not expected to win the race for the Elysée at the outset of his first presidential campaign. “Trust the French people. Don’t always predict the worst for them,” he said.
Merz said Germany “will continue to do everything we can to ensure that our cooperation with our French neighbors remains as close, deep, and trusting as possible.”
He added: “This is true regardless of how voters in France decide.”
Keeping the Franco-German engine humming with a far-right French president could prove difficult, however. Le Pen and her party have historically been critical of Franco-German partnerships, though current leader Jordan Bardella had been trying to build bridges with Berlin when he was a potential National Rally presidential candidate.
Le Pen had been expected to be barred from the election due to her conviction for misusing European Parliament funds, but a Paris appeals court earlier this month created an unexpected path for her to run.
Big promises, little time
Berlin and Paris frequently portray themselves as the motor that drives the EU, but the two governments have often struggled to reach compromises, including recently on matters of trade, defense and joint debt.
When it comes to the EU budget and China policy, Germany and France have traditionally represented opposing camps within the bloc — so bridging those historic divides in a matter of months will be tough.
Macron said that France and Germany would examine together the European Commission’s proposal for new so-called own resources, taxes levied by the bloc that directly put cash in EU coffers and thereby make the bloc less dependent on member countries’ contributions.
The summit also highlighted Germany’s recent shift toward the French positions on tackling unfair trade practices from China. Given its reliance on exports, its close economic ties with Beijing and fear of retaliation, Germany has traditionally been more cautious on launching probes and imposing duties on Chinese exports as regularly suggested by France.
In their joint declaration, Paris and Berlin asked the European Commission to launch more trade probes into Chinese practices and to strengthen the bloc’s trade defense arsenal. Macron also said a joint plan on the matter would be developed by the end of the year.