By Angelika Hellemann and Jeanne Plaumann
His country is burning! Now French President Emmanuel Macron (45) has to cancel the three-day state visit to Germany!
Actually, Macron would have landed on Sunday. But on Saturday the situation was so bad that he called Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (67) and explained the situation to him.
► The Office of the Federal President announced: “France’s President Macron spoke to Federal President Steinmeier on the phone today and informed him about the situation in his country. President Macron has asked for the planned state visit to Germany to be postponed.”
Background: The riots in France were triggered by the death of 17-year-old delivery driver Nahel M. in Nanterre. A police officer shot the young man of North African origin at point-blank range during a traffic stop on Tuesday as he pressed the accelerator pedal. M. had previously escaped an initial police check by hitting the road and endangered passers-by during the chase.
The riots are currently getting a new, more extreme dimension every new night. More than 1,300 people were arrested from Friday to Saturday, and according to the French Interior Ministry, 79 police officers were also injured.
Macron’s rejection shows how bad things are in France. The state visit had been planned for more than a year. After all the arguments between Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (65, SPD) about military cooperation, money for Europe, energy policy, it should be a big celebration of Franco-German friendship.
► In addition to Berlin, visits to Ludwigsburg in Baden-Württemberg and Dresden in Saxony were also planned, where Macron wanted to give a speech on Franco-German relations in front of the Frauenkirche.
But a president celebrating in Germany while riots are raging at home? Not feasible, decided Steinmeier and Macron.
► “The Federal President regrets the cancellation and fully understands the situation in our neighboring country,” says the Federal President’s Office. The Federal President follows the development with great attention. He hopes that the violence on the streets will end as soon as possible and that social peace can be restored, said Steinmeier.
The visit should be rescheduled as soon as possible. Before that, though, Macron needs to get the situation in his country under control.
Fourth night of rioting in a row: looting and violence
In Lyon, Marseille and Grenoble, roving groups looted shops on Friday night. Demonstrators also set fire to cars and garbage cans again. In Strasbourg, rioters attacked an Apple Store and other businesses before nightfall.
The French police deployed up to 45,000 forces and armored vehicles to gain control of the exceptional situation on the fourth night of rioting.
Major events have been canceled across France. On the instructions of the Ministry of the Interior, bus and tram traffic across the country was stopped from 9 p.m. The sale of fireworks, petrol cans and flammable and chemical products should also be systematically prohibited.