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 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 (FCAS) programme was launched in 2017 to replace France's Rafale jet and the Eurofighter planes used by Germany and Spain.

But the scheme, jointly developed by the three countries, has stalled as disagreements grow between France's Dassault Aviation and Airbus, which represents German and Spanish interests.

Macron also said he and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had requested their defence ministers conduct a review of the project by the end of the year.

"And it is on this basis that we will rule and take the necessary decisions," he added.

Both France and Germany said recently they can develop the fighter jet project without each other.

Last week, both Dassault Aviation and a government official said that France was in a position to develop the project alone should negotiations with Germany and Spain fail.

"I don't mind if the Germans are complaining. If they want to do it on their own, let them do it on their own," said Dassault Aviation chief Eric Trappier.

Berlin and Madrid have been particularly exasperated by the position of Dassault, which has been vying for a leadership role in the project.

France and Germany have also sought to jointly develop a next-generation battle tank equipped with artificial intelligence and laser technology, billed as a game changer in modern warfare.

But those plans have also faced delays amid rivalry between French and German industrial companies.

Macron said that both the fighter jet project and the advanced battle tank dubbed the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS) still meet the "strategic needs" of both countries.

"We knew from the outset that it would be very difficult, because competing manufacturers were forced to join forces for a project," Macron said.

But he added that he was "in favour of maximum integration, because we need to produce more, and we need to do so at the European level".