Düsseldorf/Paris (dpa/lnw) - The energy crisis and Franco-German relations are the subjects of a trip abroad by North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU). According to the Düsseldorf State Chancellery, his two-day visit to Paris on Wednesday included a political talk with French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire. The focus should be on the current consequences and challenges of the energy crisis.
"The Franco-German friendship is the engine for Europe and it must also be the engine for solving the current energy crisis," emphasized Wüst according to the statement. "That's why the European states have to coordinate closely to guarantee security of supply for the people." Germany and France would play a pioneering role here. Right now, the energy supply relationships should be further diversified and at the same time the expansion of renewable energies should be promoted.
The reason for the trip for Wüst, who is also the German-French Commissioner for Culture in the Federal Republic, was a reception on the Day of German Unity. A visit to Notre-Dame was on his agenda for Thursday. Large parts of the historic building were destroyed in a major fire in April 2019.
The day after the fire disaster, the then Franco-German Commissioner for Culture, Armin Laschet (CDU), together with the President of the German UNESCO Commission, launched a fundraising campaign "NRW for Notre-Dame". Almost 500,000 euros came together, which is now flowing into the reconstruction, as reported by the State Chancellery. "Four clerestory windows from the nave of the cathedral are being restored in a unique German-French cooperation project in the Cologne Cathedral workshop."
According to the state government, around 20,000 French people live in NRW. Both countries have also been linked for many years through partnerships between regions, cities, schools and universities.
