Germany news: Merz, Macron plan closer nuclear cooperation

Here is a summary of some of the headlines out of Germany on Friday, July 17:

Germany's Merz, following the German-French consultations near Cologne, promised to "extend a hand" to the next French president who succeeds Macron.

France is expected to hold the first round presidential elections in April 2027, with Macron ineligible to run due to term limits.

"We will continue to do everything we can to ensure that this cooperation with our French neighbors remains as close, as deep and as trusting as possible, regardless of how voters in France decide," Merz said.

Recent opinion polls show far-right politician Marine Le Pen as the most popular candidate.

Le Pen was convicted of embezzling EU funds in 2025 and was banned from holding public office. However, an appeals court earlier this month lifted that ban, despite upholding the conviction, with Le Pen vowing to run for the presidency while wearing an ankle tag.

"Beware of the polls," Macron said during a press briefing alongside Merz. "Trust the French people, don't always predict the worst for them."

Macron defeated Le Pen in the 2017 and 2022 French presidential elections.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to strengthen German-French nuclear cooperation during their meeting at Nörvenich Air Base near Cologne.

Merz and Macron presided over a session of the German-French Defense and Security Council at the air base, where it was agreed that Germany would participate in a French nuclear exercise for the first time later in the year.

"We are strengthening European deterrence," Merz said in a post about the meeting on X.

France is the only member of the European Union which possesses its own nuclear weapons on its own soil. Germany, meanwhile, hosts US nuclear weapons on its territory.

In addition to Germany, eight other nations have agreed to strengthen nuclear cooperation with France: the United Kingdom, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

During a later meeting at nearby Brühl Castle, Merz and Macron also agreed to tighten cooperation on missile defense and long-range strike systems.

Merz said Germany and France would continue to develop a combat cloud system which links aircraft, drones and sensors. The "combat cloud" is the last remaining pillar of a joint fighter jet program between Germany and France which fell through earlier this year.

France and Germany have begun ministerial talks aimed at deepening cooperation on defence, artificial intelligence, critical raw materials and Europe's future budget.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and 10 ministers from each country opened consultations at Augustusburg Palace in Brühl on Friday.

The agenda includes the European IRIS-2 satellite network, joint artificial intelligence projects and efforts to secure supplies of critical raw materials.

Both governments also want to prepare negotiations on the European Union's next long-term budget, with the aim of reaching an agreement before Europe's major election year in 2027.

Merz welcomed Macron with military honors outside Augustusburg Palace. Shortly after the ceremony, a French Rafale fighter jet and a German Eurofighter flew over the venue.

The palace, just south of Cologne, has particular significance for Franco-German relations. French President Charles de Gaulle proposed a friendship treaty to German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer there in 1962.

That initiative led to the Elysee Treaty , which remains the foundation of cooperation between the two countries.

According to the famous local story, Napoleon was so impressed by Augustusburg that he regretted that it "did not have wheels," because otherwise he would have taken it back to France.

Before travelling to Brühl, Merz and Macron and their defense ministers met at Nörvenich Air Base as part of the Franco-German Defence and Security Council.

The discussions included plans to strengthen nuclear cooperation between the two countries.

A Moldovan man has been arrested in Munich on suspicion of flying a drone over the premises of a German defence company and collecting security-sensitive footage.

The 37-year-old flew the drone over the site on Wednesday evening, Munich prosecutors have said.

Authorities suspect he took photographs and videos relating to national defence with the intention of passing them to a foreign organization or a banned group.

Police detained the man near the suspected scene shortly afterward following information from members of the public.

A judge at Munich District Court issued an arrest warrant on suspicion of espionage.

The suspect has been remanded in custody while the investigation continues.

Drone sightings in Germany spiked in 2025 , with over 1,000 suspicious drone flights recorded last year. Several airports across Europe were also disrupted by drone flights.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in October that the German government believes Russia is behind many of the drone sightings over German territory.

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A German court has sentenced a man to life in prison for murdering his wife after she told him she wanted a divorce.

The regional court in the Bavarian city of Landshut ruled that the man had acted out of base motives, a spokesperson said on Friday.

The court largely followed the prosecution's request in its verdict on Thursday but did not find the defendant's guilt to be of particular severity.

The man was remanded in custody in December 2025 after lying in wait for his wife in Wallersdorf and killing her.

Prosecutors said he had severely abused his wife for years. The relationship was marked by his intense possessiveness and controlling behavior toward her.

The woman had planned to leave him and obtained a restraining order under Germany's Protection Against Violence Act.