Overview

• Paris and Berlin will convene a joint Council of Ministers on Friday in Toulon with ten ministers from each country.
• The agenda features potential security guarantees for Ukraine in a future peace framework, the Iranian nuclear file, Gaza, competitiveness and reform convergence, and broader defense issues.
• Friedrich Merz said a decision on the future of the joint next‑generation combat aircraft program (SCAF) will come at the end of the year.
• The reset unfolds as France faces a political crisis over François Bayrou’s €44 billion savings plan and as Germany’s governing coalition navigates early strains.
• Hosting a chancellor at Brégançon is a rare signal of priority, capping months of intensified contacts and joint trips, while some analysts describe Merz as more Atlanticist than Macron’s EU‑centric posture.