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 announced on Wednesday.
Macron will travel to Mayotte in the French Indian Ocean to inspect the damage caused by Cyclone Chido over the weekend. Hundreds of people are believed to have died in the destruction.
It was an established practice in these types of circumstances for Germany to represent France, Macron’s office said.
Relations between the two leaders are reportedly tense over allegations that the EU’s two main countries do not always join forces. Both leaders are also currently under extreme domestic pressure.
Topics at the EU summit include the war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and irregular migration to the bloc.
Top-level meetings will take place in Brussels on Wednesday. Macron would participate in a dinner of the EU-Western Balkans summit.
