PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron backed the "constitutional unity" of Spain during a call with the country's prime minister on Monday, according to a statement from the presidency which made no mention of the weekend violence in Catalonia.
Macron told Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy "of his attachment to the constitutional unity of Spain" after Sunday's banned independence referendum which the Spanish police tried to thwart.
The French leader said he had "just one partner in the form of Mr Rajoy", the presidency said.
Macron also discussed his ambitious proposals for European Union reforms with Rajoy, emphasising "the importance of close Franco-Spanish cooperation for their success", his office added.
The EU has called for dialogue to solve the crisis over Catalonia's referendum and for an end to violence in a cautious first reaction to a thorny subject for the bloc.