Merz stresses European unity and defense during his first trip as German chancellor

BERLIN (AP) — Friedrich Merz plunged straight into international crises on his first full day as Germany’s new chancellor Wednesday, presenting a united front with France against U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war, demanding more aid for Gaza and announcing he soon would visit Ukraine.

Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron — firm believers in the European Union and leaders of the continent's largest economies — used their first meeting since the German leader’s appointment Tuesday to show unity on Ukraine and other issues causing alarm in Europe. They vowed to strengthen the continent’s security and increase defense spending.

The tandem of Germany and France has long underpinned the 27-nation bloc, but lost some of its vigor in recent months as leaders in both countries wrestled with domestic issues.

In a joint news conference, Merz acknowledged that Europe still needs the U.S. for peace in Ukraine. “It is our firm conviction that we cannot end this war in Ukraine without further political and military engagement by the United States of America,” he said. “The Europeans cannot replace this at present.”

Both Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been exerting pressure on the EU, forcing it to rethink its own security. It was not clear when Merz would visit Ukraine.

Macron said that France and Germany will “accelerate” defense cooperation, including jointly developing new defense technologies “necessary for the wars of tomorrow.” He listed working together on tanks, long-range missiles and combat aircraft. He also said that the countries would start regular meetings of a French-German defense council.

Merz also visited Poland on Wednesday and addressed his new government's plans to station more police at Germany's border to curb illegal migration and even turn away some asylum-seekers.

“If we, everybody together in the European Union, give the signal to those who are setting out for Europe without valid opportunities for entry, if we give this signal especially to the traffickers, that these routes are going to get a lot more difficult and that we are going to close them, then that is a joint and good signal,” Merz said during a joint news conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Merz and Macron also demanded that Israel allow humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza. Israel cut off all aid to the territory over two months ago to try to pressure the Hamas militant group.

Israel is preparing to ramp up its campaign against Hamas in a devastating war now entering its 20th month. The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.

Israel’s offensive has killed more than 52,000 people in Gaza, many of them women and children, according to Palestinian health officials, who don't distinguish between combatants and civilians in their count.

Merz urged Israel to be “more responsible" — striking comments given Germany's past and present support for Israel.

Macron said that France couldn’t, on the one hand, defend Ukrainians’ sovereign and territorial rights while ignoring the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, saying: “We cannot have double standards."

Both men sought stability between India and Pakistan, saying they view the latest exchange of fire "between these two nuclear powers with the utmost concern.”

India fired missiles into Pakistani-controlled territory early Wednesday, killing at least 31 people in what Pakistan’s leader called an act of war. India said it struck infrastructure used by militants linked to last month’s massacre of tourists in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir.

The German leader's trip to Paris came the day after his historic defeat in the first round of voting in the German parliament. No other postwar candidate for chancellor has failed to win on the first ballot. He won in the second.

Traditionally, newly elected chancellors make a point of visiting their big neighbors in the west and east on the first day in office to stress European unity.

Merz's Paris stop showed that the new chancellor was plunging into world affairs, sending a message that Germany is back after his predecessor's more timid approach. Macron touted their meeting as “a new page” in the French-German partnership.

In particular, France is looking for German backing for increased EU defense spending in the face of Russia's threat as well as concerns that Trump is pivoting from its post-World War II relationship with Europe to focus on countering China.

The French president also said France and Germany would “act hand in hand” in the face of Trump’s tariffs and work for “a united European response and a balanced outcome that respects our interests.”

The stops in Paris and Warsaw occurred on the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender in World War II. The meeting with Macron was particularly loaded with symbolism for the two countries that were bitter enemies in World War I and II.

The first war ended with an armistice agreement signed in a railway car north of Paris. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler then used that railway car in accepting France’s capitulation in 1940, after its defenses succumbed to the German invasion.

“German-French friendship is a gift, a gift of forgiveness and reconciliation, especially for us Germans,” Merz said.

Poland's leader re-affirmed his support for a strengthened European defense, which would include a stronger German military.

“It is not easy, considering history, to say out loud, as a Polish prime minister, that I would very much like Germany to arm itself faster and more intensively," Tusk said. “Armed Germany in Poland is not a popular slogan, but fortunately today we live in times when there is a different Germany, a different Poland, different threats.”

Leicester reported from Paris. Philipp Jenne in Vienna and Rafal Niedzielski in Warsaw, Poland, contributed.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, right, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attend a joint press conference following their meeting in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, left, speaks with French President Emmanuel Macron in the garden of the Elysee palace in Paris, Wednesday, May 7, 2025.(Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron attend a joint press conference following their meeting at the Elysee palace in Paris Wednesday, May 7, 2025.(Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands at the end of a joint press conference following their meeting at the Elysee palace in Paris Wednesday, May 7, 2025.(Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz enter the Elysee Palace, Wednesday, May 7, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Newly-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends the first cabinet meeting, at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Friedrich Merz reacts after he failed to be elected new chancellor in first round vote at the German federal parliament, Bundestag, at the Reichstag building in Berlin, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Leader of the Christian Democrats Friedrich Merz is congratulated by outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz after being elected new chancellor at the German federal parliament, Bundestag, at the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Newly elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and former Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, attend a handover ceremony in the chancellery in Berlin, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Some celebrities donned anti-ICE pins at the Golden Globes on Sunday in tribute to Renee Good, who was shot and killed in her car by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer this week in Minneapolis.

The black-and-white pins displayed slogans like “BE GOOD” and “ICE OUT,” introducing a political angle into the awards show after last year’s relatively apolitical ceremony.

Mark Ruffalo, Wanda Sykes, Jean Smart and Natasha Lyonne wore the pins on the red carpet, and other celebrities were expected to have them on display as well.

Since the shooting Wednesday, protests have broken out across the country, calling for accountability for Good's death as well as a separate shooting in Portland where Border Patrol agents wounded two people. Some protests have resulted in clashes with law enforcement, especially in Minneapolis, where ICE is carrying out its largest immigration enforcement operation to date.

“We need every part of civil society, society to speak up,” said Nelini Stamp of Working Families Power, one of the organizers for the anti-ICE pins. “We need our artists. We need our entertainers. We need the folks who reflect society.”

Congressmembers have vowed an assertive response, and an FBI investigation into Good's killing is ongoing. The Trump administration has doubled down in defending the ICE officer's actions, maintaining that he was acting in self-defense and thought Good would hit him with her car.

Just a week before Good was killed, an off-duty ICE officer fatally shot and killed 43-year-old Keith Porter in Los Angeles. His death sparked protests in the Los Angeles area, calling for the officer responsible to be arrested.

The idea for the “ICE OUT” pins began with a late-night text exchange earlier this week between Stamp and Jess Morales Rocketto, the executive director of a Latino advocacy group called Maremoto.

They know that high-profile cultural moments can introduce millions of viewers to social issues. This is the third year of Golden Globes activism for Morales Rocketto, who has previously rallied Hollywood to protest the Trump administration’s family separation policies. Stamp said she always thinks of the 1973 Oscars, when Sacheen Littlefeather took Marlon Brando’s place and declined his award to protest American entertainment’s portrayal of Native Americans.

So, the two organizers began calling up the celebrities and influencers they knew, who in turn brought their campaign to the more prominent figures in their circles. That initial outreach included labor activist Ai-jen Poo, who walked the Golden Globes’ red carpet in 2018 with Meryl Streep to highlight the Time’s Up movement.

“There is a longstanding tradition of people who create art taking a stand for justice in moments,” Stamp said. “We’re going to continue that tradition.”

Allies of their movement have been attending the “fancy events” that take place in the days leading up to the Golden Globes, according to Stamp. They’re passing out the pins at parties and distributing them to neighbors who will be attending tonight’s ceremony.

“They put it in their purse and they’re like, ‘Hey would you wear this?’ It’s so grassroots,” Morales Rocketto said.

The organizers pledged to continue the campaign throughout awards season to ensure the public knows the names of Good and others killed by ICE agents in shootings.

For more coverage of the 2026 Golden Globes, visit https://apnews.com/hub/golden-globe-awards

Jean Smart poses in the press room with the award for best performance by a female actor in a television series – musical or comedy for "Hacks" during the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Natasha Lyonne, left, and Clea DuVall arrive at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Wanda Sykes arrives at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Mark Ruffalo, left, and Sunrise Coigney arrive at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Mark Ruffalo, wearing a "Be Good" pin, arrives at the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)