BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Sunday he was following riots in France “with concern”, a day after President Emmanuel Macron postponed a state visit to his country over the violence.

France is a “friendly neighbouring country” and Paris and Berlin together “make sure that the European Union, which is so important to our common future, works well,” Scholz told broadcaster ARD in an interview.

“That is why we are of course looking at (the riots) with concern, and I very much hope, and I am certainly convinced, that the French president will find ways to ensure that this situation improves quickly.”

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The German presidency announced Saturday that Macron was cancelling his scheduled visit over the nationwide violence in France.

The state visit had been 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 a three-day visit.

The would have marked the first state visit by a French president in Germany since 2000, when Jacques Chirac travelled to Berlin.