Staff Reporter.
Photo Credit:AFP.
French President Emmanuel Macron has postponed a state visit to Germany due to have begun Sunday, the German presidency announced, following four days of riots in France.
“French President Macron spoke today by telephone with German President (Frank-Walter) Steinmeier and informed him of the situation in his country,” the German presidency said Saturday.
“President Macron asked for a postponement of his planned state visit to Germany,” it added.
The Elysee said separately that Macron had expressed his wish to remain in France in the coming days, given the situation in France.
No new date has been agreed on for the postponed visit, a French source said.
Steinmeier “regrets the cancellation and has full understanding given the situation in our neighbouring country,” his office said in the statement.”
He hoped that “the violence on the streets will end as soon as possible and that social peace can be restored”.
The state visit is seen as an opportunity to reinvigorate the relationship between the two EU giants, with Macron scheduled to cross the breadth of the country from west to east on his three-day visit.
The three-day trip would have marked the first state visit by a French president in Germany since 2000, when Jacques Chirac travelled to Berlin.
A French source noted however that the both sides have “many opportunities to meet”, and that a stateLCG80
visit is above all a way of celebrating Franco-German friendship, rather than a strictly political meeting.
As such, the timing for this visit was “not the most propitious”.
Meanwhile French fashion house Celine has cancelled its menswear show in Paris this weekend due to ongoing riots sparked by the police killing of a teenager, designer Hedi Slimane said Saturday.
“A fashion show in Paris, while France and its capital are bereaved and bruised, seems… inconsiderate and totally misplaced,” Slimane wrote in French on Instagram.
He said it was “a great disappointment” to cancel the show, due to take place in the French capital on Sunday, but that the “uncertain evolution of the very serious troubles” meant it was necessary for the security of his team and guests.
France has been hit by four nights of protests over the death of teenager Nahel M., shot dead by a policeman after refusing to stop his car.
Menswear week finished in Paris on June 25 but Slimane, one of the most influential designers in men’s fashion, has lately chosen to present outside the official schedule.
The cancellation will raise questions for other fashion houses, since Paris is set to host the haute couture week starting from Monday.
Several cultural events have been cancelled due to the riots, including two concerts at the Stade de France by one of the country’s most popular singers, Mylene Farmer, and the last night of the Fnac Live festival in the capital.