German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to roll out the red carpet for French President Emmanuel Macron in Berlin Wednesday evening in an effort to project goodwill between the two leaders amid growing tensions.

French President Macron travels to Berlin today for the third display of Franco-German affection since German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s party won elections in February — though this time discussions promise to be trickier, write Anne-Sylvaine Chassany and Leila Abboud.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday the government had not yet decided whether it would take a stake in the German division of state-owned Dutch power grid operator TenneT and was still in talks with the Netherlands.