Macron delays trip to Germany amidst ongoing crisis in France

French President Emmanuel Macron has postponed his upcoming state visit to Germany as the country deals with violent street protests following the killing of a 17-year-old boy by police.

Police arrested 1,311 people overnight from Friday to Saturday, the highest number since violent protests began over the killing of Nahil M policeman in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday.

Shops were looted and municipal houses were attacked in various locations nationwide, despite the Ministry of Interior sending 45,000 police personnel as well as armored vehicles to deal with the riots.

The protests revealed the death of the teenager, Nael M. , who was of Algerian descent, heightened racial tensions in modern-day France and increased scrutiny of the police, which has long been accused of singling out minorities.

The crisis is a very unwelcome development for Macron, who has been looking forward to a second term after facing protests that erupted in January over raising the pension age.

And the German presidency announced that Macron spoke by phone with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and “informed him of the situation in his country,” as he asked to postpone the visit, which is scheduled to start on Sunday.

The move is deeply embarrassing for Macron, who earlier this year was forced to postpone a visit to France by Britain’s King Charles III due to protests over pensions.

peaceful and constructive ways

Nahil’s funeral began in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, where he used to live, amid a large crowd of people in the local cemetery, amid a tense atmosphere, according to what an AFP correspondent reported.

The family wanted it to be as intimate as possible, and away from the cameras. A ceremony was scheduled for early afternoon at the mosque in Nanterre and then the burial took place in the giant cemetery of Mont Valerin in the area.

In a rare intervention on a social issue, the French national football team, many of whose prominent players come from minority backgrounds, has joined calls for an end to the clashes.

“A time of violence must give way to a time of mourning, dialogue and reconstruction,” the team said in a statement posted on social media, Paris Saint-Germain captain and star Kylian Mbappe.

Les Bleus said they were “shocked by the brutal death of a young Nael”, but asked that the violence give way to “other peaceful and constructive ways of self-expression”.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the overall scale of violence was less severe than previous nights, but there was still intense rioting in certain regions including the cities of Marseille, Lyon and Grenoble, with gangs of masked hooligans often looting shops.

According to temporary ministry figures released early Saturday, 1,350 vehicles and 234 buildings were burned overnight, and 2,560 fires occurred in public places.

The ministry also said that 79 policemen or gendarmes were injured.

Unacceptable exploitation

The southern port city of Marseille has once again been the scene of clashes and looting from the center and north in the long-neglected low-income neighborhoods that Macron visited at the start of the week.

In an effort to reduce violence, trams in France stopped running after 9:00 pm (1900 GMT) and the sale of large fireworks and flammable liquids was banned.

Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne also announced the cancellation of large-scale events across the country, which included two concerts this weekend by iconic singer Mylene Farmer at the Stade de France venue.

Macron, who initially denounced the “unforgivable” death, also criticized Friday the “unacceptable exploitation of the death of a teenager” in some quarters and vowed to work with social networks to reduce “copycat violence”.

He also urged parents to take responsibility for minor troublemakers, a third of whom were “young or very young”.

The United Nations human rights office said on Friday that the killing of the teenager of North African descent was “a moment for the country to seriously address the deep issues of racism and racial discrimination in law enforcement”.

The unrest has sparked concerns abroad, with France hosting the Rugby World Cup in the fall and then the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Britain and other European countries have updated their travel advisories to warn tourists to stay away from areas affected by the riots.

“Our hotel members have suffered from a wave of cancellations of reservations in all areas affected by damage and clashes,” said Chef Thierry Marx, President of the Master Federation of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs.

A 38-year-old policeman was charged with premeditated murder over the death of a teenager and has been remanded in custody.