Despite all differences, Scholz says he and Macron are good mates

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron don't always agree on the job, but they do get along quite well and even hang out together off the world stage of politics, according to the German leader.
"Emmanuel Macron and I work very well together and are also quite close on a personal level, if I may say so," Scholz said in an interview published in Germany's Saarbrücker Zeitung daily on Friday.
Scholz said he sometimes meets privately with Macron and his wife.
Asked about differences in opinion between him and the French president, for example regarding weapons deliveries for Ukraine, Scholz said: "Of course it happens that we look differently at certain issues which we have to solve together."
However that had always been the case in the relationship between Germany and France, since both countries, despite their similarities, were different, according to the German chancellor.
"The important thing is that we find common answers," Scholz said.
The German chancellor and the French president, who helm the European Union's two most powerful members, have not always seen eye to eye during the more than two years of Scholz's tenure, particularly in the aftermath of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
While Macron was the first leader of a NATO country speaking out in favour of allowing Ukraine to use weapons supplied by Western allies to strike military targets on Russian territory, Scholz needed much longer to come around.
In another apparent rift, Macron brought up the possibility in February of sending ground troops to Ukraine, though he later clarified that he did not mean combat troops. His statements sparked debate among Kiev's Western allies who fear that such a move could draw them into the war.
Scholz has always rejected sending ground troops to Ukraine, citing concerns that Germany could otherwise become party to the conflict.