March 25, 2026 10:02 AM

German president calls Iran war a disastrous mistake, in rare rebuke of Trump

The Iran war is a "disastrous mistake" that breaches international law, Germany's president said on Tuesday in an unusually blunt rebuke of U.S. President Donald Trump's foreign policy, which he said marked a rupture for German ties with its biggest post-war ally. In a scathing verbal attack, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose largely ceremonial role allows him to speak more freely than politicians, took a far more critical line than Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has skirted questions on the war's...

May 26, 2024 12:14 PM

Macron heads to Germany in first French presidential state visit in 24 years

French President Emanuel Macron lands in Germany on Sunday for a three-day state visit followed by a bilateral cabinet meeting as the European Union's two biggest powers seek to show unity ahead of next month's EU parliamentary elections. Macron's trip to the capital Berlin, Dresden in the east and Muenster in the west is the first French presidential state visit to Germany in 24 years. The visit will be watched as a checkup on the health of the German-French relationship that drives EU policy...