French First Lady Brigitte Macron laughs with the German president’s wife as they share a joke after the wreath-laying ceremony at the Holocaust memorial in Berlin

French First Lady Brigitte Macron shared a joke with her German counterpart as the couple accompanied their spouses to a wreath-laying ceremony at the Holocaust memorial in Berlin on Monday morning.

French President Emmanuel Macron laid a wreath at the site of the memorial to the six million Jewish people killed by the Nazis during World War II, along with his wife, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his partner Elke Budenbender.

As the couples walked through the concrete blocks that make up the monument, we saw Brigitte and Budenbender holding hands and laughing as they made their way to the ceremony.

Macron made the gesture as part of his state visit to Germany, the first presidential visit by a French leader in 24 years. The wreath laying ceremony took place at the beginning of the second day of the journey.

The monument is located not far from the Brandenburg Gate in the German capital. Macron and Steinmeier took turns laying wreaths wrapped in the colors of each country.

French First Lady and Brigitte Macron and German First Lady Elke Buedenbender hold hands as they walk through the monument to the six million people killed by Nazi Germany during World War II

First Lady Elke Budenbender is a member of the board of the Germany-Israeli Future Forum

After a short ceremony, the two couples entered the accompanying museum commemorating the six million people killed by Nazi Germany during World War II.

The visit will be seen as a check on the health of the German-French relationship that drives EU policymaking, at a time of major challenges for Europe – from the war in Ukraine to the possible election of Trump in the US.

“This state visit comes at a key moment for Europe,” Macron said, pointing to the war in Ukraine among other challenges.

“We must face the imperialist desire in Europe… this presupposes that the French-German relationship must be strengthened,” he told journalists after being received by his German counterpart Steinmeier at the presidential palace, Schloss Bellevu.

Steinmeier, serving in a largely ceremonial role, said Germany and France can overcome the geopolitical challenges facing Europe, such as Russia’s war in Ukraine, the war in Gaza and the US elections, if the two countries work together.

Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have very different leadership styles and have publicly clashed over issues from defense to nuclear energy since the latter came to power in late 2021.

However, they have recently reached compromises on several fronts, from budget reforms to changes in energy market subsidies, allowing the EU to reach deals and present a more united front.

“There are tensions in the German-French relationship, but partly precisely because they have dealt with some difficult topics,” said Yann Wernert of the Jacques Delors Institute in Berlin, noting that the two countries had also agreed on the need to expand the EU to the east.

The visit is “an attempt at the highest political level to demonstrate that the relationship is working,” said Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at the Eurasia Group think tank.

‘But there are still fundamental gaps in the major issues looming over the EU.’

After a short ceremony, the two couples entered the accompanying museum commemorating the six million people murdered by Nazi Germany during World War II.

Macron’s visit was originally scheduled to take place last July, but was postponed at the last minute due to riots in France following the police killing of a 17-year-old

Although Macron visits Germany regularly as Paris and Berlin try to coordinate their positions on EU and foreign policy, this is the first state visit with full pomp since Jacques Chirac arrived in 2000.

One of the most important gaps concerns European defense, especially if Trump wins the November 5 elections. Defense experts see him as a far less predictably reliable ally for Europe than his Democratic rival, President Joe Biden.

Earlier this year, the Republican former president said not only that he would not protect NATO members from a future attack by Russia if those countries’ contributions to the defense alliance were lacking, but that he would encourage Russia “to do whatever they want ‘.

France, which has nuclear weapons, has pushed for a more defense self-reliant Europe and has been hurt by Germany’s decision to buy mainly American equipment for its air defense umbrella of the European Sky Shield Initiative.

Germany says there is no credible alternative to the US military umbrella and that Europe does not have time to wait for a homegrown defense industry to be prepared for threats such as Russian hostility.

After meeting Steinmeier, Macron, accompanied on his trip by his wife Brigitte, will walk through the monumental Brandenburg Gate together with the city’s mayor, Kai Wegner.

He goes to Dresden on Monday, where he will give a speech in front of the Frauenkirche, which was destroyed by Western allies during the Second World War, before leaving for Münster on Tuesday.

But perhaps the most important part of his trip will be Tuesday’s cabinet meeting in Meseberg, just outside Berlin, where the two governments will then work to find common ground on the two key issues they are struggling to address. eyes have been able to see. what we need to pay attention to, namely defense and competitiveness.

The two countries will also try to find common ground on the EU agenda for the next five years, given the expected strong rise of the far right in the parliamentary elections on June 6 and 9, making decision-making in the EU more difficult.

Rahman said the EU would have a clear window to move forward with more ambitious plans – between parliamentary elections and the establishment of the new leadership, and before German elections next summer.

This would be especially important if Trump were to win the election, he said.