President Macron and Chancellor Merkel to Meet in Paris
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron today in Paris.
The two leaders will discuss the situation in Afghanistan and the Sahel Zone, where concern is growing over the region’s potential to serve as a base for operations for terrorist groups.
The meeting comes after Macron hosted the two leading candidates for election to the next German chancellorship in Paris last week. This international visit will be Merkel’s last as German chancellor before federal elections commence on September 26.
Today’s meeting is expected to result in symbolic exchanges. Macron will likely praise Merkel’s pro-European leadership as she promotes the benefits of the Franco-German relationship. Medium-term, Macron will likely attempt to situate France as the next symbolic leader of the EU. Notably, this comes as France is set to take over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU Council in January 2022. The meeting is unlikely to result in significant policy developments to address the security situation in Afghanistan or the Sahel Zone. Long-term, failure to produce viable security policies will lead to greater terrorist risk in Europe. Therefore, Macron will likely use foreign security policies to position France as the preeminent state within the EU.
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