France and Germany are much better at fighting each other than at collaborating.
Throughout history, the belligerent Germans (Prussians) and the French have fought no fewer than 9 wars against each other, ever since the 1700’s.
Sometimes, like in the ‘War of the Fourth Coalition’ (1806–1807), Napoleonic France defeated Prussia; sometimes, like in World War II (1939–1945), Nazi Germany invaded and occupied France.
Fast forward to the second half of the 20th century, when the European Union was created around the Franco-German alliance.
For decades, this alliance of former foes carried the European project – but actual bilateral collaboration is a tricky proposition.
This has become quite clear this week, as the German and French leaders have ditched a project to jointly develop and build a new-generation fighter jet.
The industrial rivalries were reportedly stronger than Europe’s most ambitious defense program.
France and Germany say they have agreed to abandon a joint fighter jet program due to disagreements between the companies involved, a blow to European efforts to boost defense cooperation at a time of souring ties with the United States https://t.co/Pows1Fvn66 pic.twitter.com/xiSPi1zlh3
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) June 8, 2026
Reuters reported:
“German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the troubled project on the sidelines of the EU-Western Balkans summit in Montenegro last week and concluded that there was no prospect of breaking months of deadlock between arms firms involved in the plan, German officials said.
Merz has therefore advised Macron not to pursue the construction of a joint fighter aircraft any further, they said.
Macron’s office said the two had discussed the project at length and regretted that the main industry partners, European aerospace group Airbus, which represents Germany and Spain, and France’s Dassault Aviation had not been able to reach an agreement.”
🚨✈️ Germany and France scrapped their $116B joint fighter jet project
Europe’s flagship defense cooperation program was killed after 9 years of disputes over control, intellectual property, and design requirements.
The US has repeatedly pressured Europe to rearm. pic.twitter.com/YNS0EYhFBb
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) June 9, 2026
The Telegraph reported:
“Announced in 2017, [Future Combat Air System] FCAS was meant to be Europe’s most advanced fighter jet, with an array of impressive combat systems, including a swarm of armed drones and a ‘combat cloud’ system.
But the project was mired in controversy for years, as French and German-led firms could not agree on its core capabilities. […] The leaders had tried, without success, to find common ground between Airbus, the European aerospace group representing Germany and Spain, and France’s Dassault Aviation.
An Elysée source said: ‘The president of the republic and the federal chancellor had lengthy and frequent discussions on ways to advance this important project for European defense. They each expressed regret over the impossibility for the industrial partners to reach agreement on the continuation of this project’.”
Failure to reach an agreement underscores the struggles Europe has faced in rebuilding its military capacity after decades of underinvestment. https://t.co/ACDKdL7LLZ
— Defense News (@defense_news) June 8, 2026
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