Macron continues charm offensive in Berlin

"Indispensable" was how French President Emmanuel Macron described the ties between France and Germany. If French is "the language of love," his choice of words suggests more functionality than any deep "amour".

On Sunday Macron kicked off the first State Visit to Germany by a French President in 24 years which, considering the importance of the relationship, feels like a very long gap. 

He was welcomed to Berlin and the Schloss Belvue palace by German President Frank Walter Steinmeir, whose role is largely ceremonial. 

Macron dismissed any talk of strains on the relationship between Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, saying Berlin and Paris always "come to an agreement in the end." He added: "If Germany and France are in agreement, then there is still a lot that can be achieved in Europe,"

Without doubt, when France and Germany pull in the same direction, Europe gets things done. But right now there are a whole host of issues where even if Paris and Berlin are aligned on the end goal, they disagree on how to get there. Ukraine is one such issue.

Earlier this year Macron didn't rule out sending troops to Ukraine. This caused much consternation in Berlin and prompted an openly critical response from Scholz.

Berlin continues to prod Paris over levels of military aid to Ukraine. Germany is behind only the U.S. on what it has made available to Kyiv, with France lagging behind in ninth place on the list. 

However, Paris is keen to point to the numbers of much needed cruise missiles France has provided. By contrast, Germany refused to allow its Taurus missile system to be given to Ukraine, saying its range could lead to it being used inside Russian territory, something Scholz believes would lead to escalation in the conflict.

Macron's visit comes just before EU Parliamentary elections on June 6-9. We can expect President Macron to use his speech in Dresden on Monday to drum up support for the status quo and away from the more hard-line parties. 

He is expected to deliver his address in German, which is seen by many as a nice touch, particularly because Dresden is in one of the heartlands of support for the far right AFD party. Outside of the pro European festival of music and culture where Macron will be speaking, there may be some dissenting voices.

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On the future of the EU there is also friction between Paris and Berlin. Macron wants the bloc to set its own agenda and be less dependent on the United States. 

It is expected that the French and German leaders will discuss what they think will be coming down the line if Donald Trump makes a return to the White House. Paris was not happy that Germany opted for buying U.S. produced equipment for its part of the EU air defense umbrella. 

That wasn't surprising here in Germany, with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock running her campaign to try and become chancellor back in 2021 with a policy to follow the U.S. on all things regarding foreign and defense policies.

Scholz will host Macron at Schloss Mesesberg palace on Monday evening where a joint meeting of the German and French cabinets will take place.

On Tuesday Macron will be in Münster to receive the Westphalian Peace Prize, as he rounds off his whistle stop tour of Germany.

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