France, Oct. 2 -- French President Emmanuel Macron has said France and Germany must maintain their resolve to keep working jointly on the European fighter jet programme.

Governments in Berlin and Paris have been aiming to enhance the continent's defence autonomy at a time of heightened tensions with Russia.

"Arms companies on both sides are claiming leadership," Macron said in an interview with the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

"It is therefore up to us to stay the course of what we consider to be in the general Franco-German interest and to continue working on joint solutions."

The Future Combat Air System programme- known by its French acronym Scaf - was launched in 2017 to replace France's Rafale jet and th...