President Macron canceled a trip to Germany as tensions rose following four consecutive days of riots following the shooting death of a teenager by police.
German Presidential Spokesperson Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on July 1 that French President Emmanuel Macron called to announce his decision to cancel his four-day visit to Germany, which was originally scheduled to begin on July 2.
The two leaders also discussed the social crisis in France, which broke out about four days ago after police shot and killed a 17-year-old boy in a suburb of Paris.
Mr Macron's aide said the scheduled trip to Germany needed to be moved to a more suitable time.
"A state trip is a friendly activity, full of ceremony. The French people will find it difficult to sympathize if the President goes to Germany these days. He needs to be in Paris," the assistant said.
French President Emmanuel Macron in Marseille on June 28. Photo: AFP
Yan Wernert, an expert at the Jacques Delors Institute in Germany, said social unrest in France is significantly affecting President Macron's ability to implement foreign policy.
This is the second time this year that France has had to cancel high-level foreign affairs activities due to the social order situation in the country. In March, King Charles of England canceled a visit to France due to a wave of protests and riots related to the new pension law.
The wave of protests escalated into violence over the past four days following the death of Nahel M., a 17-year-old Algerian boy who was shot dead by police during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb. The shooting has reignited social discontent in France over police discrimination against minorities, immigrants and poor suburbs.
French police arrested more than 1,300 people for violent acts during protests in cities across the country from the night of June 30 to the morning of July 1. Many stores were looted and government buildings were attacked, despite the French Interior Ministry deploying some 45,000 police and armored vehicles to restore order.
Protesters clash with police in the southern French city of Marseille on June 30. Photo: AFP
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the level of violence on the night of June 30 and the early morning of July 1 was not as serious as the previous three days, but vandalism and looting still occurred alarmingly in some major cities such as Marseille and Lyon.
French officials said 1,350 vehicles and 234 homes were set on fire, along with some 2,560 fires in public places overnight. At least 79 security personnel were injured in the clashes.
Thanh Danh (According to Reuters, AFP )
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