Macron begins the first state visit to Germany by a French president in 24 years

BERLIN (AP) — President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday started the first state visit to Germany by a French head of state in 24 years, a three-day trip meant to underline the strong ties between the European Union's traditional leading powers ahead of European Parliament elections in which far-right parties in both countries hope for gains.

The visit was originally meant to take place last July but was postponed at the last minute due to rioting in France following the killing of a 17-year-old by police.

While Macron is a frequent visitor to Germany as Paris and Berlin try to coordinate their positions on EU and foreign policy, this is the first state visit with full pomp since Jacques Chirac came in 2000. Macron and his wife, Brigitte, are being hosted by Germany’s largely ceremonial president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

It is “proof of the depth of the friendship between France and Germany” that Macron is visiting as Germany celebrates the 75th anniversary of its post-World War II constitution and before it marks the 35th anniversary in November of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Steinmeier said.

Steinmeier is holding a state banquet for Macron at his Bellevue palace in Berlin on Sunday evening before the two presidents travel on Monday to the eastern city of Dresden, where Macron will make a speech, and on Tuesday to Muenster in western Germany. The state visit will be followed later Tuesday by a meeting between Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and ministers from both countries at a government guest house outside Berlin.

Germany and France, which have the EU's biggest economies, have long been viewed as the motor of European integration, though there have often been differences in policy and emphasis between the two neighbors on a range of matters.

That was evident earlier this year in different positions on whether Western countries should rule out sending ground troops to Ukraine. Both nations are strong backers of Kyiv.

Macron on Sunday said there has frequently been talk of problems in Franco-German relations over the decades, but “France and Germany together have accomplished extraordinary things — they have been at the heart of this Europe.” He contrasted that with the countries' history of war against each other until 1945.

He renewed a warning that Europe could “die” if it fails to build its own robust defense as Russia's war in Ukraine rages on, or if it fails to undertake major trade and economic reforms to compete with China and the U.S.

Ahead of the European Parliament elections next month, Macron said that “fear of a changing world” is feeding a rise of the far-right in Europe.

“When we let these fears transform into anger, that feeds extremes,” he said, advocating “respect" in listening to people's worries and greater “efficiency” in dealing with their problems.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, right, and French President Emmanuel Macron enter the podium for a press conference at Bellevue Place in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, right, and French President Emmanuel Macron walk to a press conference at Bellevue Place in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

French President Emmanuel Macron attends a press conference at Bellevue Place in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, right, and French President Emmanuel at the end of a press conference at Bellevue Place in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, right, and French President Emmanuel Macron enter the podium for a press conference at Bellevue Place in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

French President Emmanuel Macron attends a press conference at Bellevue Place in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, right, and French President Emmanuel at the end of a press conference at Bellevue Place in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron arrive at the military section of BER Airport, in France, ahead of their three-day state visit to Germany, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (Christophe Gateau/dpa via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron arrive at the military section of BER Airport, in France, ahead of their three-day state visit to Germany, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (Christophe Gateau/dpa via AP)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved the influential War Cabinet that has overseen the fighting in Gaza, Israeli officials said Monday, a move that comes days after a key member of the body bolted from the government over frustration with the Israeli leader's handling of the war.

The move was widely expected following the departure earlier this month of Benny Gantz, a centrist former military chief. Gantz's absence from the government increases Netanyahu's dependence on his ultra-nationalist allies, who oppose a cease-fire. That could pose an additional challenge to the already fragile negotiations to end the eight-month war in Gaza.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the change with the media, said Netanyahu would hold smaller forums for sensitive war issues, including with his Security Cabinet, which includes far-right governing partners who oppose cease-fire deals and have voiced support for reoccupying Gaza.

The War Cabinet was formed in the early days of the war, when Gantz, then an opposition party leader and Netanyahu rival, joined the coalition in a show of unity following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel. He demanded that a small decision-making body steer the war, in a bid to sideline far-right members of Netanyahu’s government. It was made up of three members — Gantz, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The move to scrap the War Cabinet comes as Israel faces more pivotal decisions.

Israel and Hamas are weighing the latest proposal for a cease-fire in exchange for the release of hostages taken by Hamas during its attack. Israeli troops are still bogged down in the Gaza Strip, fighting in the southern city of Rafah and against pockets of Hamas resurgence elsewhere. And violence continues unabated between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group — with a Biden administration envoy in the region in a bid to avert a wider war on a second front.

Netanyahu has played a balancing act throughout the war, weighing pressure from Israel's top ally, the U.S., and growing global opposition to the fighting, as well as from his government partners, chief among them Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Both have threatened to topple the government should Israel move ahead on a cease-fire deal. The latest proposal is part of the Biden administration's most concentrated push to help wind down the war. For now, progress on a deal appears to be stalled.

Critics say Netanyahu’s wartime decision-making has been influenced by the ultra-nationalists in his government and by his desire to remain in power. Netanyahu denies the accusations and says he has the country’s best interests in mind.

Gantz's departure, while not posing a direct threat to Netanyahu's rule, rocked Israeli politics at a sensitive time. The popular former military chief was seen as a statesman who boosted Israel’s credibility with its international partners at a time when Israel finds itself at its most isolated. Gantz is now an opposition party leader in parliament.

Netanyahu's government is Israel's most religious and nationalist ever. In Israel's fractious parliamentary system, Netanyahu relies on a group of small parties to help keep his government afloat. Without the support of Gantz's party, Netanyahu is expected to be more beholden to far-right allies.

Israeli soldiers carry the flag-draped casket of Capt. Wassem Mahmoud during his funeral in the village of Beit Jann, northern Israel, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Mahmoud, 23, a member of the Druze minority, was killed during Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israeli soldiers carry the flag-draped casket of Capt. Wassem Mahmoud during his funeral in the village of Beit Jann, northern Israel, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Mahmoud, 23, a member of the Druze minority, was killed during Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israeli soldiers carry the flag-draped casket of Capt. Wassem Mahmoud during his funeral in the village of Beit Jann, northern Israel, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Mahmoud, 23, a member of the Druze minority, was killed during Israel's ground operation in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in a hospital in Deir al Balah on Sunday, June 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians carry a child killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip into a hospital in Deir al Balah on Sunday, June 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

FILE - From left, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz speak during a news conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel on Oct. 28, 2023. Israeli officials said Monday, June 17, 2024, that Netanyahu has dissolved the influential War Cabinet that was tasked with steering the war in Gaza. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)