GERMANY AS A

50 YEARS OF THE ÉLYSÉE TREATY
A NEW BALANCE
AND NEW
CHALLENGES
© Picture-alliance / dpa
since 1990
The fall of the Berlin Wall, 9 November 1989
On 9 November 1989, the world order was hit
by the bombshell of the fall of the Berlin
Wall. The end of East-West confrontation
produced a long string of consequences, from German
unification in 1990 to the unification of Europe in
2004. A new, multipolar world emerged.
Reunification created a new situation for the Franco-
German tandem: economically, demographically and
politically, the balance had changed, and Germany
had shifted geographically towards the middle of
Europe. The joint response to these changes was to
be a leap forward for Europe.
This visionary approach, however, could not dispel
all fears and tensions. At the turn of the 21st cen-
tury, the Franco-German engine found itself unable
to reach compromise on how the enlarged EU should
function, to say nothing of their discreetly avoided
differences of opinion on the euro.
Nevertheless, the Franco-German reflex was
still there. In 2003, President Jacques Chirac and
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder instigated tangible
steps to breathe new life into the Élysée Treaty on its
40th anniversary – to reinforce intergovernmental
cooperation, institute a Franco-German Day for
schools and encourage people in each country to
learn the other’s language.
From 2007 on, the first tandem of the post-war era
was inhabited by Chancellor Angela Merkel and
President Nicolas Sarkozy. Together, they faced the
global financial crisis, then the crisis in the eurozone,
and worked to correct the latter’s structural flaws.
Since 2012, the Chancellor has been continuing
those efforts alongside President François Hollande.