When the French use the word "fraternité" - brotherhood - they are referring to a lofty virtue that unites the nation. The fact that President François Hollande spoke of the "fraternité franco-allemande" in Berlin, of the especially deep relationship between the countries, can therefore be understood as a sign of great esteem, reports Deutsche Welle.
The "Franco-German friendship" is routinely praised, and sometimes it is simply a turn of phrase. But the crises of the last several weeks have proven how close and how resilient this friendship in fact is: the attacks on the Parisian satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in January, and last week's Germanwings plane crash in the French Alps have brought forth a wave of solidarity and empathy.
At a joint press conference with Hollande in Berlin on Tuesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the French had welcomed victim's relatives with "big, open hearts," and had filled the Franco-German friendship with life in an "inimitable way." Together Merkel and Hollande thanked the emergency workers and specialists, who, according to the French president, will have identified all 150 crash victims by the end of the week.
Hollande came to Berlin as part of a series of meetings between the two governments' cabinets, and was received by Merkel at the chancellery with military honors. After rather cool, reserved beginnings, the Social Democrat Hollande and the Christian, conservative Merkel now work closely together, and in a friendly fashion.
The fact that in these difficult times Germany and France are not only coming together emotionally, but also politically, is evidenced by numerous decisions made by Berlin and Paris - such as the announcement that the two countries, and Italy, will jointly develop a new surveillance drone - an area where Europe has fallen far behind the United States.