This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/24/world/europe/france-king-charles-unrest.html

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
King Charles Postpones Trip to France Amid Unrest King Charles Postpones Trip to France Amid Unrest
(about 2 hours later)
The state visit by King Charles III of Britain to France that was scheduled for next week has been postponed because of strikes and protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension overhaul, a blow to the French president. King Charles III of Britain has postponed a visit to France that was scheduled for next week because of strikes and protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension overhaul, officials in both countries said on Friday, a blow to the French leader.
“This decision was taken by the French and British governments, after a telephone exchange between the President of the Republic and the King this morning, in order to be able to welcome His Majesty King Charles III in conditions that correspond to our friendly relationship,” the French presidency said in a statement. “This state visit will be rescheduled as soon as possible.” The visit by King Charles and the queen consort, Camilla, who were scheduled to arrive in Paris on Sunday before heading to Germany on Wednesday, was particularly ill-timed for Mr. Macron in light of the widespread fury over his plan to raise the legal retirement age to 64 from 62.
The visit by King Charles and the queen consort, Camilla, who were scheduled to arrive in Paris on Sunday before heading to Germany on Wednesday, could not have been more ill-timed for Mr. Macron. “This decision was taken by the French and British governments, after a telephone exchange between the President of the Republic and the King this morning, in order to be able to welcome His Majesty King Charles III in conditions that correspond to our friendly relationship,” the French presidency said in its statement. “This state visit will be rescheduled as soon as possible.”
He is facing widespread fury, protests and strikes over his decision to raise the legal retirement age to 64 from 62, and the optics of the visit were particularly bad. A British government representative said that the decision to postpone had been taken “with the consent of all parties, after the president of France asked the British government to postpone the visit.” A spokeswoman for the German government said the royal visit to Germany would continue as planned.
Mr. Macron, who was supposed to have dinner with the king at the Château de Versailles, just outside the capital, where French monarchs used to reside, has long been described by his critics as a monarchical ruler himself. That Charles had chosen France as his first overseas destination as king had highlighted Britain’s desire to mend the relationship with its European neighbor after years of fractured ties, but the optics of the royal visit were particularly bad for Mr. Macron.
His political opponents, already furious over his decision to push the retirement change through Parliament without a full vote, had pounced on the king’s visit as proof that Mr. Macron was so out of touch with ordinary people that he would rather dine with a foreign monarch than heed their concerns. His political opponents had pounced on the king’s trip as proof that Mr. Macron was so out of touch with ordinary people that he would rather dine with a foreign monarch than heed their concerns.
His opponents welcomed news of the postponement, and some reacted with glee. The French leader had pushed through the pension overhaul without a full vote in Parliament last week, and this week began with a no-confidence vote that Mr. Macron’s government barely survived. More than one million people took to the streets in France on Thursday for a nationwide day of strikes and protests.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the influential leftist leader, quipped on Twitter that “the meeting of kings at Versailles” had been “dispersed by popular censure.” The statement from the French presidency cited a new day of strikes and protests expected on Tuesday — right during the king’s visit — as the main reason for the postponement, after an outpouring of anger on Thursday that was marked in some cities by violent and chaotic clashes with the police. That fueled concerns that French security forces would be stretched thin by the king’s visit.
That Charles chose France as his first destination had highlighted Britain’s desire to mend the relationship with its European neighbor after years of fractured ties. Mr. Macron, who was supposed to host a state banquet with the king at the Château de Versailles, just outside the capital, where French monarchs used to reside, has long been described by his critics as a monarchical ruler himself.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement that, “Their majesties greatly look forward to the opportunity to visit France as soon as dates can be found.” The president’s opponents welcomed news of the postponement, and some reacted with glee. Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the influential leftist leader, quipped on Twitter that “the meeting of kings at Versailles” had been “dispersed by popular censure.”
The logistics of the visit had also become increasingly precarious. The king and Camilla were scheduled to take a train down to the southwestern city of Bordeaux on Tuesday, right in the middle of what is expected to be a widely followed transportation strike.
There, the king was scheduled to inaugurate a new British Consulate, see the devastation caused by wildfires over the summer and tour an organic vineyard.
But Bordeaux, like other French cities, has been rattled by the angry demonstrations against Mr. Macron’s pension overhaul. Protesters set a door at the town hall on fire on Thursday night, and some activists had already vowed to disrupt the king’s visit.
Mathieu Obry, a union representative at the Bordeaux transportation system for the C.G.T., France’s second-largest labor union, said in an interview before the visit was canceled that “we have nothing against Charles,” but that protesters intended to block a tramway that the king was supposed to ride.
“We have a democratically elected president who thinks he is a monarch,” Mr. Obry said. “Our own monarch should listen to his people.”
In Paris, the royal visit would have included a ceremony at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, an address to the French Parliament and an opening of a painting exhibition at the Musée d’Orsay.
Sandrine Rousseau, a Green lawmaker who had been highly critical of the king’s visit, said the postponement was “respectful of the social movement” currently gripping France.
“It was outlandish to do this visit right in the midst of a social conflict of historic proportions, to go eat in Versailles and walk down the Champs-Élysées,” Ms. Rousseau told the BFMTV news channel.
The French presidency did not confirm whether Mr. Macron had asked Britain for the postponement, saying only that the decision had been reached “jointly between the two governments.”
The visit had been scheduled to come only weeks after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain met with Mr. Macron in Paris during a tête-à-tête that sounded like a reconciliation.The visit had been scheduled to come only weeks after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain met with Mr. Macron in Paris during a tête-à-tête that sounded like a reconciliation.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates. Reporting was contributed by Constant Méheut from Paris, Megan Specia and Mark Landler from London, and Christopher F. Schuetze from Berlin.
Constant Méheut contributed reporting from Paris, and Megan Specia from London.