Under-fire Macron puts off talks with the Germans

Rumours of rift played down with Paris and Berlin at odds over defence and energy strategies

EMMANUEL MACRON postponed a meeting with Olaf Scholz amid signs of growing splits between France and Germany over energy and defence.

France is privately “furious” with Berlin for launching a €200billion domestic energy aid scheme without consulting its closest EU partner, and for favouring US and foreign weaponry over EU defence, according to reports.

Germany in turn is said to have complained about French “hypocrisy”.

The decision to put off next week’s traditional Franco-german government consultations came as Mr Macron came under fire domestically for choosing to get his 2023 budget approved by by-passing parliament, where he no longer has a majority. The move sparked an opposition pledge to table a no-confidence motion.

While such a vote is highly unlikely to win enough support to bring down the government, the use of article 49.3 underlines the president’s weakness in parliament and goes against electoral pledges to negotiate more on important legislation.

But ministers say there was little choice but to use the article to pass the budget after opposition parties tacked hundreds of amendments on to the bill that could potentially add more than €8 billion to the deficit if adopted.

Yesterday, French and German officials played down any rift, saying they needed “more time” before the leaders meet in Fontainebleau, south of Paris — the first such consultations since Mr Scholz, the chancellor, took office.

“There is a common desire to have something more ambitious... on defence and how we align European sovereignty with the needs and choices that have been made, and on energy questions to see with the Germans how we build a European sovereign strategy,” said an Elysée official.

Steffen Hebestreit, Mr Scholz’s spokesman, acknowledged “there are a number of different issues we are dealing with... on which we have not yet reached a unified position”.

Both sides decided it was “sensible” to postpone the talks to January. In private, however, the language was less diplomatic.

“The French are really p---ed off with the Germans, especially Scholz,” said a European source.

“The Germans are doing what the French are often accused of: making decisions without consulting its partners to serve their interests.”

On the French side, the list of grievances includes Berlin’s decision to spend much of an extra €100 billion in military spending on off-the-shelf US weapons, rather than EU defence projects to boost capacity at home, which France has been pushing for.

One French government official cited joint projects — including the Future Combat Air System fighter jet and the

‘The Germans are doing what the French are often accused of: making decisions without consulting partners’

Main Ground Combat System tank — as areas where progress has been lacking. By comparison, the UK is pressing ahead with its next-generation combat aircraft, Tempest.

Mr Macron has also said Mr Scholz’s decision to roll out a €200 billion scheme to protect businesses and consumers from energy price rises risked leading to “distortions” in the bloc.

Berlin has also been accused of blocking a cap on gas prices at the EU level, which France fears would remove an incentive for consumers to save energy, thereby worsening the situations.

For its part, Berlin is unhappy with Paris over a lack of support for its attempt to revive the so-called Midcat gas project for pipelines linking Portugal, Spain, through France to Germany.

Germany hopes the pipeline could in future be used to transport hydrogen. France sees it as costly and unnecessary as it already has sufficient liquefied natural gas terminals on its coast.