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Emmanuel Macron hails ‘dear Olaf’ Scholz as Europe’s new power couple meets

  • The new German chancellor made Paris his first overseas stop after taking over from Angela Merkel at the end of her 16 years in power
  • The two leaders discussed EU issues, the Russian troop build-up on Ukraine’s border, as well as relations with China and the African continent

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (left) and French President Emmanuel Macron fist bump at the end of their joint press conference at the Elysee Palace on Friday. Photo: dpa

French President Emmanuel Macron hailed a “convergence of views” with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday as the two men met for their first talks as leaders.

Macron and Scholz, both pro-EU centrists, are the new tandem in charge of Europe’s biggest economies that have the greatest influence inside the 27-member European Union.

Scholz, a Social Democrat, heads a new coalition whose commitment to strengthening Europe’s “strategic sovereignty” has raised hopes of progress in the fervently pro-EU French government.

Addressing Scholz as “dear Olaf” and using the informal French pronoun tu, Macron said he had seen “a convergence of views, a desire to have our countries work together, and a firm and determined belief in Europe, which I knew already, which we will need in the months and years ahead”.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (left) and French President Emmanuel Macron attend a media conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (left) and French President Emmanuel Macron attend a media conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE

The visit was “a very important moment to build solid foundations for cooperation between our countries”, he added at a news conference.

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