Emmanuel Macron arrived in Berlin on Sunday to begin a state visit to Germany, the first by a French president in almost a quarter of a century.
High on the his agenda will be easing recent tensions with Germany and warning of the dangers of the far right ahead of EU elections.
After Mr Macron will spend three days in the country, making four stops during the visit.
He will seek to emphasise the historic importance of the postwar relationship between the two key EU states, as France next month commemorates 80 years since the D-Day landings that marked the beginning of the end of German occupation during the Second World War.
But all has not been smooth in a relationship often seen as the engine of the EU, with Berlin taken aback by Mr Macron's refusal to rule out sending troops to Ukraine and German officials said to be uneasy at times about the French President's often theatrical style of foreign policy.
In a question-and-answer session on social media with young people this month, Mr Macron enlisted help from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz when asked if the Franco-German "couple" was still working.
"Hello dear friends, long live French-German friendship!" Mr Scholz said in French in a video on Mr Macron's X feed.
"Thank you Olaf! I very much agree with you," Mr Macron replied in heavily accented German.
While Mr Macron is a frequent visitor to Berlin, the trip is the first official French state visit in 24 years following a trip by Jacques Chirac in 2000 and the sixth since Charles de Gaulle visited in 1962.
On Sunday afternoon Mr Macron held talks with German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose role is largely ceremonial.
On Monday afternoon he will travel to Dresden in the former East Germany to deliver a speech on Europe at a festival.
Mr Macron will visit in the western German city of Munster and later in Meseberg, outside Berlin, on Tuesday, for talks with Mr Scholz and a Franco-German joint cabinet meeting.
German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung took note of Mr Macron's planned trip to eastern Germany.
"Franco-German relations, which are so important for European stability, have long been primarily a relationship with western Germany," the newspaper said.
"This is still largely the case today. But Emmanuel Macron is driven by the ambition to change that."
The trip comes two weeks before European elections where polls show, in a major potential embarrassment for Mr Macron, his coalition trailing well behind the far right, meaning it may struggle to even reach third place.
The speech in Dresden, a city where the German Alternative for Germany (AfD) garners considerable support, will likely feature Mr Macron warning of the danger the far right poses to Europe.
In a keynote address on foreign policy last month, Mr Macron issued a dire warning about the threats to Europe in a changing world since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
"Our Europe, today, is mortal and it can die," Mr Macron said.
"It can die and this depends only on our choices."
Officials from both sides are at pains to emphasise that while there are periodic tensions on specific issues, the fundamental basis of the relationship remains sound.
But Mr Macron's refusal to rule out sending troops to Ukraine sparked an unusually acidic response from Mr Scholz that Germany had no such plans.
Germany also does not share Mr Macron's enthusiasm for a European strategic autonomy less dependent on the US.
"The Franco-German relationship is about disagreeing and trying to find ways of compromise," said Helene Miard-Delacroix, specialist in German history at the Sorbonne University in Paris.
Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at risk analysis firm Eurasia Group, said relations between France and Germany "remain awkward, verging on hostile".
"On the big issues, little progress should be expected," he said on X.
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
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ABU DHABI T10: DAY TWO
Bangla Tigers v Deccan Gladiators (3.30pm)
Delhi Bulls v Karnataka Tuskers (5.45pm)
Northern Warriors v Qalandars (8.00pm)
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
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Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
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A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
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Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
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Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
RESULT
Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’
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