Friedrich Merz succeeded in his bid to become the next German chancellor during a second vote in parliament, hours after he suffered a historic defeat in the first round.

Germany’s Friedrich Merz has formally become chancellor at the second attempt, hours after an unprecedented defeat signaled deep discontent within his coalition.

New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a reset in French-German relations to help Europe overcome the "enormous" security and economic challenges it faced during his first trip abroad since taking office to top ally France on Wednesday.