That made good on a promise to repopulate French politics with new faces and reinforced the generational shift under Macron, who at 39 is France's youngest president. If En Marche! doesn't gain enough seats, or recruit enough politicians willing to form a coalition, the body can vote out Philippe and install a new prime minister - a move that would likely eliminate any chance Macron has of enacting his agenda.
Merkel and Macron met in Berlin in March during the French presidential campaign, but Monday's talks mark their first meeting since his election.
"The election of the new French president offers us here the possibility to bring dynamism into the development of Europe", she said, emboldened after her conservatives won a regional vote on Sunday that boosts her chances of re-election in September.
Germany is looking to Macron to revitalize France as an economic power and political heavyweight in an European Union facing complex divorce proceedings with Britain.
Philippe, a little known 46-year-old MP and mayor of the northern port of Le Havre, comes from the moderate wing of the right-wing Republicans party and is seen as a pragmatist.
"For my part, in France I have to put in place deep reforms", he said.
As such, Philippe could possibly attract other Républicains to Macron's cause, as the centrist president works to piece together a majority in parliament to pass his promised economic reforms.
"Demands like a euro zone finance minister are really dreams", European Commissioner Guenther Oettinger, a German conservative, said before a meeting of Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Berlin.
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Both leaders suggested they were prepared to change European treaties if needed, but Merkel stressed that such measures were not immediately on the table.
French President Emmanuel Macron listens as Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo delivers her speech during a ceremony at the Hotel de Ville in Paris, France, Sunday, May 14, 2017.
In turn, Merkel said she is open to a Macron proposal to create a level playing field between European Union countries and other global trade partners.
Macron said a reconstruction of the bloc was "the only reaction" to fight populism adding: "We need more pragmatism, less bureaucracy and a Europe that protects our citizens", he said.
As a candidate, Macron called for a "new Franco-German deal" that would involve "much more structured cooperation" on investment, on European border security, and on defense.
Germany is keen to continue the Franco-German diplomatic drive to keep a lid on the situation in Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatists are battling the government. Merkel and Macron want to kick-start ties with an alliance some German media have dubbed "Merkron".
Asked during a joint news conference if she was anxious that Macron's push for a "Buy European Act" could undermine the established order of free and open trade, Merkel said: "In trade relations, for example, I see this element of reciprocity, this is something I can very well imagine".
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