New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a reset in French-German relations to help Europe overcome the "enormous" security and economic challenges it faced during his first trip abroad since taking office to top ally France on Wednesday.

The French minister said that he expects the relationship between Paris and Berlin will be simpler under Merz than it was under his predecessor. In particular, France is looking f

While already planned, the trip comes only a day after Merz was elected chancellor by parliament on the second round of voting. His unprecedented failure to succeed on the first round underscored disunity in the coalition of his conservatives and Social Democrats.