“Thank you for teaching me so much” : Emmanuel Macron greeted with emotion on Wednesday the “Exceptional course” d’Angela Merkel by giving him, to Vougeot (Côte-d’Or) the insignia of the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, the highest rank.
A decoration, dedicated to Konrad Adenauer, Willy Brandt, Helmut Kohl and Gerhard Schroeder, and who “Embodies the strength of Franco-German friendship, maintained by Angela Merkel”, according to the French presidency.
A very sober ceremony took place at the Château du Clos de Vougeot, near Beaune, where the farewell visit was organized by the Chancellor who is completing her mandate as head of theGermany after 16 years of power.
“Thank you for accepting this impetuous young president who wanted to shake up everything”, “Thank you for this patience and this indulgence towards me”, Emmanuel Macron told him again, in a brief speech which gave the ceremony a more personal turn.
“You accepted this energy, maybe sometimes this insolence with a lot of benevolence and wisdom and from that I learned”, he continued.
An allusion to the few disputes that arose between them, when the Chancellor, who worked with four French presidents, reproached him for too brutal remarks, for example when the French had judged NATO in “Brain dead state”.
“Together we have shaken up a lot of things and done a lot for Europe, before the crisis and after the crisis”, he added.
“Since you have been Chancellor, France has learned to know and love you”, “During all these years, you have helped to keep Europe united despite all the shocks”, “It is a magnificent European destiny”, he concluded.
“Angela! Angela! Good boy ! “, ” Thank you mum ! », shouted the crowd that awaited the two leaders in Beaune, the Mecca of wine-growing Burgundy. “Enjoy your retirement”, launched a man in English, in the middle of the selfies.
Relaxed, the Chancellor accompanied the French President with a smile, alongside their husbands, Brigitte Macron and Joachim Sauer, to greet the few hundred people gathered.
After the solemnity of the G20 and COP26 summits, the atmosphere was very friendly between the two leaders, who greeted each other with a warm hug.
Seeming happy to receive this distinction, Angela Merkel thanked her host.
“What was good with all the presidents is that we shared the same values, even if at the beginning we often had different ideas. We have often managed to get together and do more than we could have done on our own ”, she stressed.
At the end, she hugged Emmanuel Macron to the applause of the twenty people present. The president offered her several gifts, including the document attesting to her first visit to France when she was deputy spokesperson for a delegation from the GDR in 1990, before reunification.
Burgundian menu
Upon their arrival in Beaune, the President and the Chancellor visited the famous Hospices de Beaune, a 15th century architectural gem in a flamboyant Gothic style.
They then met at the Château du Clos de Vougeot, an emblematic monument of wine-growing Burgundy located in the middle of the greatest vintages.
After a piano recital by young Frenchman Alexandre Kantorow, the two leaders were inducted into the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin which celebrates Burgundy, its cuisine, its wines and its traditions.
The two couples then shared a 100% Burgundian dinner, with eggs en meurette as a starter, a Burgundian specialty of soft-boiled eggs in a Burgundy wine sauce.
It was accompanied in particular by truffles from Burgundy, Charolais beef as well as fresh cheeses and chocolates from Burgundy. All washed down with a 2015 Saint-Aubin 1er cru and a 2014 Nuit Saint-Georges 1er cru.
Since the 2017 presidential election, the relationship between Mr. Macron and Ms. Merkel has evolved considerably. They have thus succeeded, over time, in building a solid relationship of trust, according to numerous witnesses.
Faced with the Covid, they were able to strengthen their ties to conclude an alliance leading in 2020 to the European recovery plan of 750 billion euros, largely financed by pooled European loans.
Before Mr. Macron, Ms. Merkel had to adapt to the very different characters of Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande.
The Chancellor must leave politics after the constitution of a new government expected in December and currently negotiated by the Social Democrats (SPD), winners of the legislative elections of September 26, with the ecologists and the liberals. If they succeed, the current Minister of Finance, the Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, will succeed him.
By then, she could return to Paris for the Peace Forum on November 11 and the meeting on Libya the next day.
– .
