German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took French President Emmanuel Macron for an impromptu walk through downtown Potsdam, where he currently lives, near the German capital Berlin, before a long working dinner on Wednesday.
They met in old market (Old Market) square, sat outside the café of the Museum Barberini and also walked across the friendship island (Friendship Island), a nearby park.
The couple also posted pictures from their walkabout online.
More than 50 people were standing nearby New market (New Market) square and watched Scholz and Macron as they went to the upper Kochzimmer restaurant, while others hung out the windows to catch a glimpse of the leaders.
Kochzimmer recently won a coveted Michelin star for its long menu that chef Jörg Frankenhäuser describes as “new Prussian cuisine.”
A long dinner
Dinner in Potsdam lasted almost three hours, It was much longer than planned. However, it was not entirely private: the delegations of both countries were also present, but Scholz and Macron sat at a different table.
It is considered likely that the two talked about Russia’s war against Ukraine, but also about European issues such as the European Commission’s proposals for a reform of the debt rules which is a very controversial topic between Germany and France.
After dinner, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) vowed close friendship between the two neighboring countries. “Our countries are linked by an inseparable friendship,” Scholz wrote on Twitter in German and French. “Together let us face the challenges of these days and our time.”
The meeting is also important because the German chancellor and the French president initially did not get off to a good start after the new government took office in Berlin in December 2021. Relations are not very easy.
The tensions between Berlin and Paris
The fact that the German chancellor invited the French president to Potsdam (practically at his house) can be understood as an additional exercise to remove the tense relationship between the two countries.
Last year, there was a lot of friction in Franco-German relations. A joint meeting of the Cabinet had to be postponed in the autumn due to several differences.
On the 60th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty of Franco-German friendship in Paris in January, the two sides tried to get their act together. The postponed joint Council of Ministers took place.
Scholz and Macron ended the celebrations immediately with dinner at the French president’s favorite restaurant, La Rotonde brasserie in the Montparnasse district of Paris.
Macron returns in July
Macron plans to be in Germany again at the beginning of July. During a three-day state visit from July 2-4 at the invitation of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Macron is scheduled to visit Ludwigsburg near Stuttgart, as well as the eastern city of Dresden.
According to current plans, Macron will only have breakfast with Scholz. A large state banquet was planned at Steinmeier’s home in Berlin’s Bellevue Palace.
This is the first state visit by a French president to Germany in 23 years.
“This special event marks the beginning of a new chapter in the decades of friendship between the two countries,” said a statement from the Office of the German President and the Élysée Palace at the beginning of May .
dh/msh (dpa, AFP)