BERLIN: French President Emmanuel Macron has decided to postpone his state visit to Germany due to intense protests in France which erupted after the fatal police shooting of a teenager that has shocked the whole nation.
The spokesperson for German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said President Macron has asked that a planned state visit to Germany be moved to another date, DW News reported.
According to Steinmeier’s office, Macron asked for the postponement of his trip during a telephone conversation with the German counterpart on Saturday. “Steinmeier regrets the cancellation and has the fullest understanding in view of the situation in our neighbouring country,” his office said.
The visit will be rescheduled as soon as possible, the German president’s office said, DW News reported. Macron was supposed to arrive in Germany on Sunday and visit the cities of Ludwigsburg, Berlin and Dresden on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
Prior to this, a state visit to France by Britain’s King Charles III was postponed as the nation dealt with unrest over President Macron’s decision to raise the retirement age, DW News reported.
Notably, President Macron faced outrage for attending an Elton John concert on Wednesday, at a time when unrest was brewing over the country, CNN reported.
Meanwhile, over 1,300 people have been arrested following the violence that has been going on the fourth day of unrest.
France’s Interior Ministry said that 1,311 people had been detained following the fourth night of violence, an update on its previous figure. It said 2,560 fires had been reported on public roads, with 1,350 cars burned, and that there had been 234 incidents of damage or fire in buildings, CNN reported.
Seventy-nine police and gendarmes were injured over the course of Friday night and there were 58 attacks on police and gendarme stations, the ministry added. Two police officers suffered gunshot wounds in Vaulx-en-Velin, a suburb of Lyon, the Interior Ministry said, one to the nose and the other to the thigh, CNN reported.
These developments take place after the death of the teenager, 17, identified as Nal after being stopped for a traffic violation in the Paris suburb town of Nanterre on Tuesday. The officer who is accused of shooting him was taken to jail. (ANI)