Macron and Scholz meet in Paris: “Europe to be united in the face of Trump”

Strasbourg – French President Emmanuel Macron received German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Paris to reaffirm the two countries’ commitment to strengthening Europe and creating a common front to act as a buffer against the unpredictability of the new U.S. administration.

The meeting between the two leaders, which took place today (Jan. 22), was organized to mark the anniversary of the signing, back in 1963, of the Elysée Treaty—signed by Charles De Gaulle for France and Konrad Adenauer for the then West Germany—which marked the beginning of the close cooperation between the two countries traditionally considered the engine of European integration.

But, in the sumptuous Parisian presidential residence, historical symbolism merged with the timing of the present: the meeting took place two days before Donald Trump‘s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States and a month before early elections in Germany, scheduled for Feb. 23.

62 years ago, General de Gaulle and Chancellor Adenauer set the framework for our very special relationship.

Germany and France are moving forward hand in hand, convinced that in the times ahead, our friendship is our strength.

Together, today and tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/9CLyAYSMqY

– Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) January 22, 2025

In a joint press conference at the end of the meeting, the two leaders reaffirmed the need to stand together to counter the new Stars and Stripes administration’s unpredictability. The topic of how to approach transatlantic relations is holding sway these days during the ongoing EU Parliament plenary in Strasbourg.

Berlin and Paris, the host argued in front of reporters, must play “their full part” in the context of a “united, strong, and sovereign Europe” that is able to “defend its interests” even against the unfriendly actions that Trump is expected to take. The latter was described by Scholz as “a challenge” for the Old Continent, after the New York-based tycoon complained yesterday of the fact that the EU is “very, very nasty” to the US, threatening for the umpteenth time heavy tariffs to achieve “fairness” in Washington’s relationship with the Twenty-Seven.

“Europe will not cower and hide but will instead be a constructive and assertive partner,” Scholz assured, describing such an attitude as “the basis for good cooperation with the new American president.” In turn, the French president stressed that the EU “must also develop its industrial base” as well as increase investment in defence, as suggested this morning by European Council President António Costa, EU executive chief Ursula von der Leyen and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in the Strasbourg chamber.

According to Macron and Scholz, Europe must strengthen to stand up to a second Trump presidency. But, net of monsieur le Président‘s statements (“the couple we form is solid,” he claimed while speaking to the press), the proverbial Franco-German engine has never seemed more broken down than it does today, with the Old Continent’s two leading economies struggling to stay afloat and their respective political systems in deep crisis.

Across the Alps, the head of state’s popularity is in free fall, while the transalpine government led by François Bayrou (the fourth to take office since January 2024) hangs by a thread due to splits at the Assemblée nationale. The success of his primary task, to ensure the country a budget for 2025 and to reduce the deficit/GDP ratio, currently around 6 per cent, (twice what European constraints would allow), is far from guaranteed.

It’s no better on the other side of the Rhine, where the resigning chancellor is considered an inept and where, polls in hand, the second-largest party in next month’s elections will be the post-Nazi, pro-Russian far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), which, to mark the occasion, has nominated for the first time in its history a candidate for head of government after being incensed by Elon Musk—the owner of X, SpaceX and Tesla who will be given a key role in the Trump bis and ended in a storm for performing a double Nazi salute at the very inauguration of the new president—as the only political force capable of “saving Germany.”

In all of this, the German economy has been in recession for the past two years and, abetted by the black automotive crisis that is gripping the entire continent, no light at the end of the tunnel is in sight for the time being.