Monarch’s first state visit since taking the throne was postponed due to pension demonstrations
Protestors clash with police officers during a demonstration, a week after the government pushed a pensions reform through parliament without a vote. Photograph: Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty ImagesA former French ambassador to the United Kingdom said it would have been “impossible” for President Emmanuel Macron to have hosted King Charles during civil unrest in the country.
The former diplomat said a planned state banquet at the Palace of Versailles for Charles and Camilla would “not have given a good image”.Lord Ricketts, a former national security adviser, said the lavish Versailles dinner would have had “echoes” of the French Revolution if it had gone ahead during public outcry at Mr Macron’s decision to push back the national retirement age.
Images of the town hall of Bordeaux – a city the royal couple were due to visit – set alight by protesters on Thursday evening were symbolic of the fury felt by some at the reforms. Ms Bermann told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme it was a “real frustration” to have to delay Charles’ visit after a breakthrough in cross-Channel relations.
The state visit was aimed at further strengthening ties between Britain and its continental neighbour using the “soft diplomacy” deployed by members of the royal family. “It is true that the dinner in Versailles would not have given a good image while there is unrest in France.”
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