MACRON ON BRINK: Panicked French president CANCELS overseas trip as protests spiral

will be focusing his attention on solving matters at home, in a bid to curb France’s crisis after riots wreaked havoc in the capital’s streets.

The French president has held an urgent security meeting on Monday, and will not be attending his diplomatic meeting in Serbia, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic confirmed.

After a phone call with Mr Macron, the Serbian president told reporters: “President Macron has asked to postpone for several weeks his visit to Serbia due to the situation in his country.”

Macron’s office later confirmed the trip would be postponed due to “the incidents that took place in the last protests.”

Over the weekend, “yellow vest” protestors led a series of violent protests in Paris, to challenge ‘s high living costs and hikes in fuel taxes.

Thousands of police were deployed to the streets to contain the violence, which began on Saturday morning near the Arc de Triomphe and continued over the weekend.

Police used around 12,000 tear gas grenades and some 136,000 litres of water to deter protesters, according to France’s Europe 1 radio.

Shocking images show violent rioters smashing windows, torching cars, and ramming metal barriers.

Three people have been killed and 263 people were injured, including 23 police officers since protests broke out more than two weeks ago.

Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, told French media she estimates that Saturday’s protests have caused between £2.7 to £3.6m (€3 to €4m) worth of damage.

Mr Macron has now postponed his two-day visit to Serbia on Wednesday, aimed to improve France’s relationship with Belgrade since last year’s World War 1 commemorations.

Mr Vucic expressed his disappointment about his seating arrangement during last year’s WW1 commemoration ceremony, after he was positioned outside the official stand by the Arc de Triomphe, sat beside Donald Trump and Angela Merkel.

The French ambassador to Serbia expressed “deep regrets” about what it called a “misstep”.

France and Serbia have taken significant steps towards improving their relationship, since the 1999 NATO bombing.

In 1999, France and Serbia’s went in tatters after French troops participated in NATO-led aerial attacks on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SRJ), consisting of Serbia and Montenegro.