Emmanuel Macron visit to Germany: Emmanuel MacronMacron in 202325th President of FranceIncumbentAssumed office14 May 2017Prime MinisterÉdouard PhilippeJean CastexÉlisabeth BorneGabriel AttalPreceded byFrançois HollandeMinister of Economics, Industry and Digital AffairsIn office26 August 2014 – 30 August 2016Prime MinisterManuel VallsPreceded byArnaud MontebourgSucceeded byMichel SapinDeputy Secretary-General to the PresidentIn office15 May 2012 – 15 July 2014PresidentFrançois HollandePreceded byJean CastexSucceeded byLaurence BooneAdditional positions(see § Offices and distinctions)Personal detailsBornEmmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron21 December 1977 (age 46)Amiens, Somme, FrancePolitical partyRenaissance(2016–present)Other politicalaffiliationsSocialist Party(2006–2009)Independent(2009–2016)SpouseBrigitte Trogneux (m.2007)ParentJean-Michel Macron (father)RelativesLaurence Auzière-Jourdan (stepdaughter)ResidenceÉlysée PalaceAlma materParis X Nanterre (MAS)Sciences Po (MPA)École nationale d’administrationAwardsList of honours and decorationsSignatureCo-Prince of AndorraReign14 May 2017 – presentPredecessorFrançois Hollande President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Germany Sunday for the first state visit by a French head of state in 24 years, a three-day trip meant to underline the strong ties between the European Union’s traditional leading powers. The visit was originally meant to take place last July but was postponed at the last minute due to rioting in France following the killing of a 17-year-old by police. While Macron is a frequent visitor to Germany as Paris and Berlin try to coordinate their positions on EU and foreign policy, this is the first state visit with full pomp since Jacques Chirac came in 2000. Macron and his wife, Brigitte, are being hosted by Germany’s largely ceremonial president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The visit comes as Germany celebrates the 75th anniversary of its post-World War II constitution. Steinmeier is holding a state banquet for Macron at his Bellevue palace in Berlin on Sunday evening before the two presidents travel on Monday to the eastern city of Dresden, where Macron will make a speech, and on Tuesday to Muenster in western Germany. The state visit will be followed later Tuesday by a meeting between Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and ministers from both countries at a government guest house outside Berlin. Germany and France, which have the EU’s biggest economies, have long been viewed as the motor of European integration though there have often been differences in policy and emphasis between the two neighbors on a range of matters. That was evident earlier this year in different positions on whether Western countries should rule out sending ground troops to Ukraine. Both nations are strong backers of Kyiv. even years after his pivotal “Speech on Europe” at the Sorbonne, President Emmanuel Macron of France recently returned to the university to make another resonating address on the topic, expanding on some of the points in a subsequent interview with The Economist. His dramatic warning that “Europe could die” provides an opportunity to reflect on the challenges that face the continent, and the progress it has made since President Macron’s first speech. The geopolitical landscape has shifted dramatically over those seven years. Britain’s exit from the European Union, the covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s war against Ukraine have fundamentally altered the political reality for Europe. Perhaps most importantly, an axis of autocracies now threatens the rules-based international order, attempting to push back against democracy and freedom worldwide. The global power competition between America and China threatens to divide the world once again into two geopolitical hemispheres.