King Felipe VI of Spain announced on Monday that he is cutting short his state visit to France because of the plane crash in which many Spaniards are thought to have died, reports RFI.
In a short address outside the Elysée Palace, just hours after his arrival in Paris, he declared that he had decided to cancel the remaining three days of his visit.
“We know that the number of victims is extremely high,” said the Spanish monarch, noting that among the victims there were many Spanish, German and Turkish people.
Around 150 people are thought to have died when a GermanWings plane flying from Barcelona to Dusseldorf in Germany, crashed in the French Alps on Monday morning.
Felipe, accompanied by his wife Letizia, had been welcomed on his arrival in France by French prime minister Manuel Valls, who was himself born in Barcelona.