Charles III’s visit to France has been postponed due to the mobilization against pensions, the Élysée Palace announced this Friday in a press release. The British sovereign was expected to arrive in Paris on Sunday for a three-day state visit, his first abroad since his accession to the throne in September. The new date of his visit is still unknown.
“Given the announcement (Thursday) of a new national day of action against the pension reform on Tuesday, March 28 in France, the visit of King Carlos III, initially scheduled from March 26 to 29 in our countries, will be postponed” , announces the Élysée Palace, which specifies that this cancellation was jointly assumed by the French and British governments.
The displacement of Carlos III was threatened for several days by the mobilization movement against the pension reform in France, during which violence broke out on several occasions.
A phone call between Macron and Carlos III this Friday
The decision was made after a telephone exchange between Emmanuel Macron and Carlos III this Friday morning, indicates Paris. Elíseo specifies that he wants to “receive the Majesty of King Carlos III under the conditions that correspond to our friendship relationship” and, therefore, prefers this postponement.
“This state visit will be rescheduled as soon as possible,” says the Élysée.
It had been questioned, according to information from BFMTV, that the planned dinner in Versailles would be moved to the Elysée due to the ongoing social actions. According to Interior, 4,000 police officers and gendarmes were going to be mobilized to supervise this movement under high surveillance.
Speech in the Senate and banquet at Versailles
France had planned to receive the British sovereign with honors during his visit. The monarch was to be received by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on Sunday at Orly airport with his wife, Queen Camilla.
They would then attend a ceremony under the Arc de Triomphe on Monday and Carlos III would give a speech in the Senate. In the evening, a banquet was planned in Versailles. On Tuesday, the sovereign was due to travel to Bordeaux to visit an organic vineyard, before returning to Britain on Wednesday.
HE daily mail He claimed this week that Buckingham Palace was “closely monitoring the French riots” and preparing for any logistical changes.
A measure frowned upon by unions
The visit of the British sovereign in the midst of a social crisis in France was viewed with bad eyes by the unions. Some had already announced that protest actions would be carried out for the arrival of Carlos III, this event being “in the crosshairs” of the protesters according to a source from the CGT union among railway workers.
The Mobilier national staff had already announced their refusal to participate in the king’s reception, according to a press release from CGT Cultura.
“Charles III, we are going to receive it with a good general strike,” Olivier Besancenot, spokesman for the NPA, had warned France Info at the beginning of March. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, for his part, had assured on Thursday on TF1 that the king was “welcome” to France, although he felt that “it was not the right time” for this visit.
Due to the social mobilization against the pension reform, a ninth day of demonstration took place on Thursday. It gave rise to clashes, 457 people were arrested, according to Interior.
The British sovereign is still expected in Germany from March 29-31.
Source: BFM TV
