The Latest: France's new president to meet Merkel next week

Published May 24, 2017

German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses the media during a joint press conference as part of a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, May 11, 2017. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) (The Associated Press)

The Latest on French President-elect Emmanuel Macron (all times local):

12:10 p.m.

The German government says new French President Emmanuel Macron will meet Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Monday.

Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert said Friday that the chancellor will receive Macron on Monday afternoon, a day after he takes office.

It's traditional for incoming French presidents to make their first foreign trip to Germany. France and Germany have traditionally been the motor of European integration.

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10 a.m.

Two days before French president-elect Emmanuel Macron takes power, the names of the prime minister and the ministers who will form his first government remain a mystery even to some of his most trusted collaborators.

Richard Ferrand, who works closely with Macron as secretary-general of his Republic on the Move party, said Friday on BFM television that even he doesn't know who will be prime minister, expected to be named on Monday, the first full day of the new presidency, at the latest.

"Frankly, I don't know," Ferrand said. "And that's good, because if I knew I'd be obliged to lie to you."

Speculation surrounds a half-dozen names, some fairly well-known, others less so.

URL

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