Overview

• The Franco-German ministerial council is meeting behind closed doors at a fort in Toulon, the first session in this format since the change of government in Berlin.
• Emmanuel Macron said the work would yield eight strategic documents and about twenty flagship projects, though details were not disclosed.
• The FCAS next-generation air combat program saw no breakthrough, with Friedrich Merz conceding the earlier timetable was unrealistic and a year-end target now set.
• German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius plans an October meeting in Berlin with partner countries to seek clarity on the FCAS path forward.
• A large German delegation attended, while France’s cabinet faces a 8 September confidence vote called by Prime Minister François Bayrou.