There has rarely been so much praise for Germany.

In the banquet hall of the Elysée Palace, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday how pleased he is that the German government, under the impression of the Ukraine war, is committed to the concept of European sovereignty.

He mentioned twice how much he appreciated the Chancellor's speech in Prague.

When he spoke about European sovereignty at the Sorbonne University in September 2017, he encountered a lot of skepticism on the other side of the Rhine, too.

"Now Germany is also committed to this, and I welcome Chancellor Scholz's speech in Prague, which underlines this need," Macron said at the French ambassadors' conference.

Michael Wiegel

Political correspondent based in Paris.

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For two hours he explained to the top diplomats and important members of the government what consequences "the return of the war to the European continent" would have for foreign policy in the coming years.

"The time when we could collect the peace dividend is over," he said.

At the last ambassadors' conference before the outbreak of the pandemic in August 2019, Macron sounded very different and promoted a rapprochement with Russia.

In 2019, Macron was still promoting dialogue with Russia

At that time he had just received President Vladimir Putin in his summer residence Fort Brégancon on the Côte d'Azur and criticized the "deep state" ("Etat profond") in front of the diplomats, which, like a state within a state, thwarted the efforts to get closer to Moscow.

On Thursday, however, Macron outlined an international order that was being thrown off balance by imperialist aspirations and the rule-breaking by permanent Security Council member Russia.

Putin aims to relativize international values ​​and deny their universal validity by defaming them as instruments of American supremacy.

Europe must defend itself against this devaluation.

Like Scholz in Prague, Macron emphasized how united and quickly the EU had reacted to the Russian attack.

The French President justified continuing the dialogue with Moscow.

Diplomacy means talking to everyone, especially those with whom you don't agree.

It is also about exerting influence as a European.

"Who wants Turkey to be the only country that talks to Russia?" Macron continued: "In this complex world, we have to stand by the fact that we can talk to anyone at any time."

France is striving for Ukraine to win militarily or negotiate a peace with Moscow according to its own ideas.

As long as France will support the country militarily, humanitarian and financially.

At the same time, it is clear that France does not want to become a party to the war and will do everything possible to prevent the conflict from spreading geographically.

He had a dig at hand for Turkey.

Macron said it was surprising that a key NATO partner ignored sanctions and traded with Russia.

The President emphasized the importance of independence more than in the Sorbonne speech.

France and also the EU should not be able to be drawn into the competition between China and the USA and have to defend their own interests.

However, that does not mean that the distance between the two great powers is the same.

America is the most important ally, China is a systemic rival.

Nevertheless, the EU must maintain its ability to trade with China.

An important section was dedicated to the Mali mission, which ended in August.

Macron praised the use of the army and diplomacy, but also drew a critical balance.

Henceforth, the exact goals of a military operation would have to be determined before an operation began.

He recalled that France intervened in early 2013 at the request of the sovereign state of Mali.

“Without our armed forces, Mali would no longer be a sovereign state today.

There was a threat of a caliphate there,” said Macron.

The President also sought to assuage resentment over the reform of the diplomatic service.

It is the basis for "more agile, more competent and stronger diplomacy".

Macron announced an increase in personnel and an increase in funds, but did not give any specific figures.

Leading diplomats and two former foreign ministers, Dominique de Villepin and Michel Barnier, have set up an association to protest the reform and call for the diplomatic service to be strengthened.

Macron promised on Thursday to convene so-called Estates-General of Diplomacy in the next few weeks, where the reform should be improved.