Merz to skip Macron’s space summit
A spokesperson for the German chancellor blamed his busy schedule.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is skipping the space summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris this week, according to a spokesperson for Merz. This decision comes just hours after the chancellor's party suffered a major setback in the Saxony-Anhalt state election. Merz's absence from the summit is seen as another setback for an event that has been criticized for its lack of direction and poor organization.
Several top U.S. space companies, including SpaceX, had already decided to drop out of the summit after pressure from the White House. Despite Merz's absence, the French government maintains that the summit will still be co-chaired by France and Germany. The event will be opened by German Minister for Research, Technology and Space Dorothee Bär and her French counterpart, Philippe Baptiste, with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also set to speak during the summit.
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