LONDON, March 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Charles III arrives in France on Sunday for his first state visit as king, but the planned celebrations of historic cross-Channel relations face potential disruption from protests over unpopular pension reforms.
Officials on both sides are keeping a close eye on the waves of strikes and disruption across France that could cause last-minute changes to the carefully crafted three-day programme.
One concern is that protesters will use the occasion to publicise their fight against President Emmanuel Macron’s bid to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64.
Striking trade unionists have even threatened to withhold red carpets for the visit but the body responsible insisted they would be rolled out as planned.
Charles, 74, and Queen Consort Camilla, 75, are due to tour Paris and Bordeaux before heading to Germany.
Buckingham Palace has said the visits “will celebrate Britain’s relationship with France and Germany, marking our shared histories, culture and values”.
“It will also provide an opportunity to look forwards and demonstrate the many ways the UK is working in partnership with France and Germany”, including tackling climate change and in Ukraine.
In Paris, Charles and Camilla are scheduled to join Macron for a ceremony of remembrance and wreath laying at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Also pencilled in is an address at the Senate, while Camilla and French first lady Brigitte Macron will officially open the new Manet and Degas exhibition at the Musee d’Orsay.
The Macrons are due to host the royal couple at a state banquet before they head southwest to Bordeaux.
There, Charles will “witness first-hand the devastation caused by last summer’s wildfires” and visit an organic vineyard, according to the programme announced in early March.
Charles, who became king last September after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was long mocked for his interest in the environment.
But his views — from organic farming to sustainable living and tackling climate change — have since become mainstream.
Since the 1970s Charles made 34 official visits to France as heir to the throne, and has met Macron several times, including at the COP26 climate change conference, which the UK hosted in 2021.
For Camilla, 75, the visit is her first overseas trip as queen consort.
When Macron visited London to commemorate the British capital’s role supporting French resistance in World War II, Charles told him that like many Britons, the couple “have long had the greatest possible fondness for France and her people”.
The king began learning French at the age of seven. Camilla spent six months in France learning the language and literature of the country in the 1960s. — NNN-AGENCIES
