French Minister calls for reset of relations with Germany

Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper) French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday that the relations between his country and Germany are in need of a “reset”, as ties are becoming strained during the ongoing war in Ukraine and rising energy prices.

According to Le Maire, the current relations between the two countries are turning “difficult”, primarily because Berlin pivoted towards Washington in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while Paris decided to focus more on European sovereignty.

The French Finance Minister also stressed that the end of Russian gas deliveries have exposed Berlin’s energy dependence to Moscow, and have brought the entire German energy model into question. At the same time, France has been making a renewed push on nuclear energy.

Another challenge for Germany, according to Le Maire, are the new business conditions in China, which are becoming more difficult. For the German industry, the Chinese market has long been an “El Dorado” of sorts, said the French Minister.

Le Maire’s statements came after a meeting with his German counterpart, Robert Habeck in Berlin on Wednesday, and after the German government confirmed the long-running rumour that the Franco-German Council of Ministers meeting, set for 26 October, was postponed until January.

Political difficulties

While Le Maire stressed on Wednesday that the postponement is merely “linked to difficulties in the agenda of certain ministers” and that it has “nothing to do with political difficulties”, he nevertheless called for a reset of relations with Berlin while speaking at a business conference on Thursday.

“The war in Ukraine, the gas and energy question and the China issue must lead us to a strategic redefinition of relations between France and Germany,” said Le Maire, adding it would “create a new, possibly stronger, alliance by resetting on a certain number of issues.”

Most recently Paris and Berlin came at odds after the German government unveiled a 200 billion euro energy package without consulting with its French counterparts. France aggravated Germany by opposing its joint proposal with Spain for construction of a new gas pipeline across the Pyrenees mountain, to make up for the capacity lost when Russia decided to cut its deliveries. France would prefer to pour the Union’s energy investments into the French nuclear sector.

Another point of contention has been the German decision to rearm its military mostly by purchasing US-made weapons systems, instead of looking to European weapons industry for suppliers.