French President Emmanuel Macron will be making a state visit to Germany from 2 to 4 July.
Never has the accumulation of differences between the two countries been so apparent. From energy and defence to economic, monetary and environmental policy, everything seems to be working towards the division of Europe's two largest economies, which are still the "driving force" behind the European Union.
Germany seems gripped by the profound changes in its post-war environment that led to its rebuilding; France seems frustrated that its expectations are not recognised for what they really are. These tensions have now spread to the European Union, where the two partners are often at odds.
Yet the lessons of European history are clear: two neighbouring and comparable nations on the same continent are condemned to either understand each other or clash.
This is why the historic Schuman Declaration of 9 May 1950 and the Gaullist endorsement of the Elysée Treaty of 22 January 1963 represented a real strategic breakthrough, bringing lasting peace and prosperity to the continent and writing a new page in its history.
European integration has often made it possible for players on both sides of the Rhine to find common ground, even in the most difficult times. Using unprecedented tools, they have been able to build the trust needed to overcome the usual and all too natural divergence of interests of the moment in favour of a broader, long-term vision.
Valery Giscard d'Estaing, the little-known architect of this alliance, rightly referred to the need for "intimacy" between leaders. He demonstrated this with Helmut Schmidt, the Chancellor at the time, to the great benefit of our two countries and of Europe as a whole. Helmut Kohl also knew how to create this intimacy.
It was the only way to bring the inevitable clashes over the day-to-day running of affairs into perspective. Favouring common long-term choices facilitates the often highly technical negotiations that have to be dealt with on a day-to-day basis.
While it has never been easy to spontaneously share analyses, the trust between France and Germany now seems to have waned.
A heterogeneous German coalition is not ideal to adapt to a completely new context; by default, it too often continues to cling to ordo-liberalism, which is the real cause of the public debt crisis, and to budgetary and monetary policies set in the marble of true mercantilism; it is paying dearly for poor economic, energy and defence choices. Reunited, it gives the impression of favouring a solitary destiny.
In France, residual sovereignty still weighs heavily on public debate. Some continue to believe that they stand alone against the world; they are ever reluctant to play the game of European cooperation, even though it is the guarantor of their country's power and identity. They have failed to see that in reality, in 21st century Europe, nothing is possible without the States, which themselves increasingly call for the Union to intervene. The fight against Covid, economic recovery, monetary stability and the financing of the digital and environmental transitions would not have been possible without the European Union.
It is time to recapture a sense of history and rise to the challenges it presents.
Only a return to trust, an in-depth dialogue on the geopolitical future of the continent and its uniqueness, based on the conviction, expressed to their public opinions, that they will not be able to meet all the challenges of a new world alone, will allow them to fulfil the expectations of their peoples.
Let us hope that this State visit, which has given priority to dialogue with citizens, will help to restore the confidence that is vital to our countries and to Europe.
