The winner of Germany's parliamentary elections has travelled to Paris to meet the French president for a working dinner on Wednesday. View on euronews

To immediately free up budgetary leeway to finance his country's rearmament, the incoming chancellor plans to vote in a special €200 billion fund for the army. He hopes to reform the strict budgetary rules – the "debt brake" – enshrined in the Basic Law, with the support of the outgoing Bundestag.

Already, Merz has pledged to increase defense spending and put Paris, Warsaw, and London at the lead of a new policy to shore up Ukraine’s sovereignty and defend Europe from Russia with or without the United States.

The first step towards Mr Merz being effective on the European stage is for him to forge a coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats at home, a task expected to take several more weeks. But the agreement announced on March 4th was startling in its ambition.

After securing the largest share in the German election, Conservative party leader Friedrich Merz has met French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. They discussed European security in the face of a shifting US policy.

Incoming German leader will hold high-stakes talks with French president as Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump hover over Europe.

BERLIN (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron and Germany's conservative chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz agreed during a meeting in Paris to open a new chapter in Franco-German relations, a source close to Merz told Reuters.

Friedrich Merz’s Rise to the German Chancellery Is Unlikely Third ... "Almost undiplomatic," was how one European diplomat described the enthusiasm with which Paris was awaiting Merz's arrival. Last weekend's Munich Security Conference saw him doing ...

French President Emmanuel Macron will dine with Germany's chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Wednesday evening, the Elysee said.

The likely next chancellor is unpopular, and his country’s economy has stalled. But his penchant for risks could help lead to a European showdown with President Trump.

The victory of the Christian Democratic leader in the February 23 German parliamentary elections was met with relief by France, Poland and other members that support a bolder role for the European Union in tackling security and economic challenges.