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.

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.

Conservative leader Friedrich Merz was elected in a second ballot by lawmakers as post-World War II Germany's 10th chancellor on Tuesday — hours after he failed to win the first round in parliament in a historic defeat.