How Emmanuel Macron resigned himself to postponing the visit of King Charles III

It is a little after 10 a.m. this Friday, March 24, when Emmanuel Macron resigns. After a breakfast with the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, on the sidelines of the European Council in Brussels, the President of the Republic seized one of his mobile phones on which the number of King Charles III had been dialed. The state visit scheduled for Sunday March 26 to Wednesday March 29 is postponed, he confirms to the British sovereign, with a heavy heart. There will be no lavish dinner served at the Palace of Versailles with his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, nor a royal walkabout in Paris followed by a speech in the Senate, nor a trip to Bordeaux, by train to emit less of CO2 : everything is cancelled. How to let the monarch venture into a country in the midst of a social conflagration?

Read also: King Charles III chooses France and Germany for his first state visits abroad

The successor of Elizabeth II was delighted with this first official visit. But “It’s like that, we have no choice”, sighs on the BBC Sir Peter Westmacott, the former British ambassador to France. The popular mobilizations provoked by the pension reform, described across the Channel as “French demonstrations”, take a disturbing turn. The day before, more than a million people marched in the streets of Paris and the provinces to oppose the law which raises the retirement age from 62 to 64, adopted without a vote by an appeal. in Article 49.3 of the Constitution. The peaceful processions were followed by an incandescent night: in the streets strewn with garbage since the garbage collectors went on strike, the garbage cans are on fire. In Bordeaux, the door of the town hall is set on fire. And a new day of mobilization is announced by the inter-union for Tuesday, March 28.

Officially, between Paris and Buckingham Palace, it is a joint diplomatic decision. But the British specify that the adjournment results from “the request of President Macron”. “We wouldn’t be serious (…) to propose to His Majesty the King and Queen to come and make a state visit in the midst of the demonstrations”justifies Emmanuel Macron from Brussels, Friday. “From the moment there was this day [celle du 28 mars] which had been decided, common sense and friendship lead us to propose a postponement. What would have been detestable for the British people as for ourselves, is to continue to maintain as if nothing had happened with incidents at the end of the day”develops the Head of State by evoking a rescheduled visit ” at the beginning of summer “, “when calm returns”.

You have 70.35% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here