Paris and Berlin seek to calm their dissensions

The head of French diplomacy, Stéphane Séjourné, believes that there is no division between France and Germany despite the differences between President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz over Ukraine.

“There is no Franco-German clash”, assures Stéphane Séjourné, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is due to meet his counterpart on Tuesday March 5 in Paris with the slogan above all not to rekindle the wounds between Paris and Berlin.

Divisions over strategy in Ukraine came to light last week, when Emmanuel Macron considered the possibility of sending ground troops. Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, immediately distanced himself from the French position. Operation rewiring, therefore, launched this weekend in the newspaper The world. “We have the same goal of supporting Ukraine”, notes Stéphane Séjourné. The Minister of Foreign Affairs nevertheless recognizes “different degrees of commitment” between Paris and Berlin. An allusion to long-range missiles, which France has delivered to kyiv, while Germany still refuses to do so.

Olaf Scholz’s blunder

Berlin fears this will lead to a military escalation with Russia. But it is not the only reason. Delivering such complex missiles means sending trainers and specialists on site to supervise the Ukrainian military. And Olaf Scholz does not want that. No Germans on the battlefield. In justifying himself, the German Chancellor suggested that the English and the French, who therefore supplied missiles to the Ukrainians, also sent soldiers to Ukraine – the famous trainers. However, neither London nor Paris had officially spoken about it. This blunder from Chancellor Olaf Scholz provoked anger across the Channel: “Irresponsible and false comments, a slap in the face for allies”, annoys the president of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the British Parliament. No reactions, however, in Paris, again out of a desire to close ranks against Russia. Especially since the German government is weakened by the broadcast of a secret conversation.

This is a discussion between high-ranking German officers, who are discussing the possibility of delivering long-range missiles, with the objective of destroying the Kerch bridge, linking Russia and annexed Crimea. This contrasts with the official German position of great caution. A conversation clearly captured by Russian spy services, and broadcast this weekend by media close to the Kremlin. “Vladimir Putin seeks to destabilize” Germany, denounced the German government on Sunday evening.

Russia is trying to fuel divisions, which is also why Paris and Berlin want to put their differences aside.