French President Emmanuel Macron backs US anti-racism activists

Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron backed anti-racism activists in the United States on Thursday in a message that avoided criticising US President Donald Trump over his reaction to violence in Charlottesville.

"On the side of those who combat racism and xenophobia. Our common fight, yesterday and today. #Charlottesville," he wrote on Twitter.

Germany`s Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Thursday that Trump had made "a huge mistake" by failing to clearly condemn a white supremacist, neo-Nazi and "alt-right" rally in Charlottesville.

Violence broke out at the Charlottesville rally called to protest plans to remove a statue of pro-slavery Confederate leader Robert E. Lee.

One counter-protester was killed when a suspected Nazi sympathiser drove a car into a crowd.