Germany and France must be the “pioneers for rebuilding” Europe, said Emmanuel Macron

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13:38 : Olaf Scholz, Emmanuel Macron and the two presidents of the German and French Assembly, Bärbel Bas and Yaël Braun-Pivet, listening to the national anthems of Germany, France and Europe. There were no sensational announcements during this speech, but strong, symbolic and powerful words about the importance of French-German friendship. This is of course necessary to revive relations between the two countries which have been a little shaken in recent months.

12:32 p.m. : “Here we are: two souls in one chest”said Emmanuel Macron, who vowed to press on “this once impossible couple”. “Long live the friendship between Germany and France and long live our Europe”he ended his speech.

12:25 p.m. : “As our two countries must do at every turning point in European construction (…), France and Germany will choose the future”, continued Emmanuel Macron. Promise that the French-German pairing will continue “find back” and must be “pioneer” For “refound Europe”

12:19 p.m. : “This 60th anniversary has a special meaning, at a time when Ukraine resisted the Russian invasion, when the ideals of peace have been violated.”

12:31 p.m. : “This friendship must not cease to be what it is. To divert a formula that was once used for France alone: ​​this friendship is a daily plebiscite.”

12:13 p.m. : “To speak about Germany for the French means always to speak about part of oneself. To accept this part of differentness (…) required a founding act, the Elysée agreement that we celebrate today.”

12:25 p.m. : Emmanuel Macron’s turn to speak. You can follow his intervention in this live broadcast on our site.

12:25 p.m. : “Our brotherly affection is translated into real and concrete actions”Olaf Scholz explained, referring to the sale of electricity to France by Germany, and French gas to Berlin.

12:07 : “The future, like the past, depends on the cooperation of our two countries, as a unified European locomotive. (…) The French-German engine is a compromise engine, well lubricated, but sometimes noisy .”

12:43 p.m. : “We will continue to provide Ukraine, as long as it is needed, with all the support it needs”, says Olaf Scholz. Germany is currently under pressure from its European allies to allow the Leopard 2 tanks to be delivered to Kyiv.

12:01 : It’s noon, the time has come to deliver new news:

• After showing differences, attempts to relaunch: Emmanuel Macron receives Olaf Scholz in Paris to demonstrate rediscovered unity, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the reconciliation agreement between Germany and France. Follow our live.

• The Minister of Labor, Olivier Dussopt, defended in Land JDD pension reform “redistributive” and intended for “restoring maximum equality”on the eve of his presentation to the Council of Ministers, emphasized in passing that a small pension increase would also be a concern for today’s pensioners.

• The Burkina Faso demanding this week the departure of French troops from its lands within a month. The decision was taken against a backdrop of heightened tensions between the two countries over the past few months and as Moscow tries to advance its pawns.

The Prime Minister of Poland called“not acceptable” Berlin’s refusal to supply Kyiv with heavy Leopard tanks, which made heavy demands on them. “It’s been almost a year since the war started. Innocent people are dying every day. Russian bombs are wreaking havoc on Ukrainian cities”Mateusz Morawiecki told the PAP office.

12:26 p.m. : “Mr President, thank you with all my heart, thank you French brothers and sisters”said Olaf Scholz in French, speaking of French-German friendship.

12:26 : It was Olaf Scholz’s turn, Chancellor of Germany to speak. “60 years ago, when the Elysée Treaty was signed, only 20 years have passed since the end of the Second World War”explained the head of government who saluted “a historic gesture of reconciliation, which marked the beginning of European construction”.

11:50 : “I hope the Chancellor will understand that this relationship needs to be revived. Unfortunately, today’s leaders are not Francophiles or Francophones.”

Ingeborg Grässle, CDU/CSU Member of the Bundestagdeplores franceinfo the lack of co-operation between France and Germany.