President Emmanuel Macron will not attend the European Union summit in Brussels on Thursday and will be represented by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Élysée Palace announced on Wednesday.
Macron is to travel to the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte to inspect damage caused by Cyclone Chido over the past weekend. Hundreds of people are believed to have died in the devastation.
Having Germany represent France was established practice in circumstances like these, Macron’s office said.
Relations between the two leaders are reported to be strained amid allegations that the EU’s two key countries do not always pull together. Both leaders are also currently under extreme domestic pressure.
Themes at the EU summit include the war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and irregular migration into the bloc.
Top-level meetings are taking place in Brussels on Wednesday. Macron was to join a dinner of the EU-West Balkan summit.
