Protester detained as Macron visits Amsterdam university

NEW DELHI: Police tackled and detained a protester on Wednesday after he ran, shouting, toward Emmanuel Macron as the French president arrived at a University of Amsterdam science campus on the second day of his state visit to the Netherlands. It was the second straight day that protesters targeted Macron, who is facing angry unrest at home over his pension reforms.

On Tuesday, demonstrators shouted and held up banners at the start of a speech in The Hague. The incident Wednesday happened as Macron arrived with Dutch King Willem-Alexander at the university's science park to visit its Quantum Gases and Quantum Information Lab to discuss quantum technology. The protester was tackled by a military officer and police before being restrained and taken to a nearby police vehicle. Macron's visit continued after the man and another protester were detained.

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Earlier, French and Dutch ministers signed an agreement to strengthen cooperation in moves to develop digital technology and make the countries' industrial sectors more sustainable. The Pact for Innovation and Sustainable Growth aims to promote partnerships in areas including “semiconductors, quantum, critical raw materials, sustainable mobility and energy infrastructure,” the Dutch government said in a statement.

Later Wednesday, Macron is scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Mark Rutte and visit a sell-out exhibition of paintings by Dutch master Johannes Vermeer at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum.