Macron and Merz Meet in Cologne to Rescue Franco-German Defense Ties After FCAS Collapse

President Macron and Chancellor Merz met at Augustusburg Palace near Cologne on July 17, 2026 — a symbolic site referencing the 1962 de Gaulle-Adenauer friendship agreement — one month after the joint Future Combat Air System (FCAS) fighter jet program formally collapsed over an Airbus-Dassault workshare dispute. Rather than continue the joint program, France and Germany will pursue separate sixth-generation fighters while preserving the shared 'combat cloud' architecture. The leaders launched a new steering group on radar systems, long-range strike and missile defense, and discussed AI cooperation and a French-led nuclear deterrence framework. Merz announced German conventional forces will join a French nuclear exercise before year-end. By July 22, Macron had further cast Germany as the 'vanguard' of an expanded French nuclear umbrella, with nine European states — UK, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Sweden, Greece and Norway — now in structured bilateral talks with Paris on hosting or participating in French extended deterrence.