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New German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier listens as new German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Jacques Chirac, both unseen, address reporters during a press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2005. Merkel made Paris her first foreign stop as German chancellor Wednesday, sending a message of continuity in her country's close ties with France at the heart of the European Union. (KEYSTONE/AP Photo/Christophe Ena)