They were bitter enemies, seemingly destined to be perpetually at odds after fighting two devastating world wars less than 30 years apart. With the EU's largest economies, they're frequently described as the motors of the 27-nation bloc and its stated goal of “an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe” after generations of conflict. Statesmen and women and ordinary people alike have worked since WWII to weave deep personal, political, economic, cultural and military bonds upon which French-German friendship has flowered where guns once roared.