French President Emmanuel Macron said authoritarianism posed a serious threat to Europe's future in a speech delivered in the eastern German city of Dresden on Monday.

The French president pointed to the rise of far-right political parties as one key source.

"Everywhere in our democracies these ideas thrive, pushed by the extremes and in particular the far right. This ill wind is blowing in Europe, so let us wake up," Macron said.

Citing the ongoing war in Ukraine, Macron said that Europe is at a crossroads. 

He made this point by speaking in German — a gesture that was met with applause from the large audience.

"Europe is a history of peace, prosperity and democracy," he said, adding that this was all was under threat if leaders did not act.

"Europe is a guarantor of peace. For many of us, this argument long sounded outdated, but war rages again in Europe." 

A symbolic venue

Macron said he was the first French president to visit Dresden since the reunification of East and West Germany. It comes on day two of his state visit to the country.

He delivered his address at the city's famous Frauenkirche, a church that symbolizes both of the destruction of World War II and later of German reunification and the end of the Cold War.

The 18th century building was largely destroyed late in the Second World War, and in former East Germany was left in ruins as a monument in its own right. In the early 1990s, after reunification, it was rebuilt and restored, with financial assistance from all over the world.

"I'm speaking here to a part of Europe that has found unity again — German unity. But at the same time [a region] which has allowed us not only to enhance Europe, but to allow Europe to be what it was always supposed to be: united," he said.

"And I am not speaking to Eastern Europe, I am speaking to the center of Europe here in Dresden."

Young people made up much of the crowd.

Some of them had even traveled from neighboring countries like Poland and the Czech Republic.

Macron honors Franco-German Nazi hunters

Earlier on Monday, Macron and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier each laid wreaths with flowers in the colors of their national flags at Berlin's Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

The Holocaust saw the Nazis murder more than 6 million Jews across Europe.

Macron also bestowed honors on renowned Nazi hunters Beate and Serge Klarsfeld.

The Franco-German couple spent decades tracking down the likes of former Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie and other Nazis who went into hiding.

Beate was appointed Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor while Serge received the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor.

"They are fighters for remembrance and fighters for justice. They have fought against forgetting and for the victims of the Holocaust to once again become the subject of history," Macron said.

What's next on Macron's agenda?

On Tuesday, Macron will wrap up his state visit in the western German university city of Münster.

In Münster he is set to be awarded the International Peace of Westphalia Prize, a private sector award which recognizes individuals or institutions for their efforts toward sustained peace.

Afterwards, the governments of both countries will hold talks at the Meseberg Palace.

zc/msh (dpa, AFP)

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