CHEMNITZ, Sept 03 (AFP): Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday urged Germans to stand up against the far right's message of hate and division, after the eastern city of Chemnitz was rocked by xenophobic protests.
Scenes of far-right protesters chasing down foreign-looking people in violent demonstrations last week against the fatal stabbing of a man, allegedly by an Iraqi, shocked Germany.
Amid the highly charged atmosphere in Chemnitz, a failed asylum applicant was sentenced to eight and a half years in jail for another fatal stabbing-in another case also seized on by the far right's anti-immigrant campaign.
Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said it was understandable that such crimes would provoke sadness and concern among the population.
But the marches by "violence-prone right-wing extremists and neo-Nazis have nothing in the least to do with sadness for a person or with concern for a city's cohesion", he said.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Macron will host German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille on Friday, a French official said, seeking support as he takes on nationalist EU leaders over immigration and institutional reforms.
The meeting will focus on "European subjects including the euro, migration, technology and the international situation," the official in the French presidency told AFP on Monday.
He did not explain why the two leaders were meeting in Marseille instead of the French capital, or give other details of the visit.
Their talks will come after a trip by Macron to Luxembourg on Thursday to consult with the prime ministers of Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands on efforts to deepen European integration.
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