With the worst political crisis in Europe since WWII, relations between France and Germany keep worsen while Berlin strikes new deals with China.
A rivalry that goes back over a thousand years, the geopolitical equivalent of the movie The Duelists by Ridley Scott. Germany and France, the two power-houses of Europe, always look like an old couple on the brink of divorce. This time, however, relations between the two major economies of the old continent seem to have reached a breaking point.
It is a horrible time for disunity. A war on the edges of Europe, the worst energy crisis in decades, rampant inflation and ever low quality of life. But while France seems to strive for closer EU ties, Germany always chooses the “I’ll do it myself” option.
Germany, the same country that is currently in the worst geopolitical position in the EU because of their abysmal energy policies. Germany, the country that increased military spending by 2%, the highest in the entirety of Europe. Germany, the country that, since the 24th of February, spent more in Russian gas than military aids for Ukraine.
Emmanuel Macron speaks from the most secure position of the continent. France, with their large fleet of nuclear reactors, can handle the energy crisis internally. France not only has the mightiest military in Europe, but is also the only EU country with the nuclear bomb. France is the only country in the EU with relevant overseas territories, spanning its influence all across the globe.
Thanks to this particularly strong geopolitical position, Macron is willing to challenge Germany as the de facto leader of the EU. And Germany has no chances but to act against European interests.
“Germany first”
As France tries to unify the EU in the matters of energy and defense, Germany prefers to strike new deals with China. Despite several French warnings not to repeat the same mistake they did with Russia (creating an energetic independence), Germany went ahead and sold the majority of Hamburg port to Chinese companies.
China has been trying for years to innest their presence inside the European economies. They already own a large share of the Piraeus, Athens’ port, for instance. With the war in Ukraine and the ambiguous Chinese support to Russia, France started worrying about their businesses in Europe.
Germany, however, kept close ties with China and snubbed France’s propositions. They did the same for the price cap on gas, initially vetoing the proposition in the EU and then implementing it on their own. Olaf Scholz, German chancellor, proposed and obtained a 200 billion euros debt package to finance the price cap.
France is thoroughly disappointed by Germany’s detached behavior. Relations between Macron and Scholz are ice cold, and they will only worsen if Scholz brings forward this “Germany first” approach.
