King Charles was due to travel to France on Sunday with Camilla, Queen Consort before moving on to visit Germany.
King Charles has had to postpone his trip to France (Image: Getty/PA)
The decision was made as protests announced there would be more demonstrations in France in response to President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 without a parliamentary vote.
A Government spokesperson said: “The King and Queen Consort’s state visit to France has been postponed. This decision was taken with the consent of all parties, after the President of France asked the British Government to postpone the visit.”
Unions planned fresh protests and strikes on Tuesday when King Charles had been scheduled to visit Bordeaux on the second day of his trip to France.
King Charles and Camilla were due to travel to France on Sunday (Image: Getty)
Violent protests are taking place in response to pension reforms (Image: Getty)
Protests in France continue to rage on (Image: Getty)
Bordeaux town hall goes up in flames as pension protests continue to spread in France
Bordeaux’s town hall was set on fire during angry protests in France as demonstrators continue to hit out at pension reforms imposed by President Emmanuel Macron. It has not been established who was responsible for the fire, but it was quickly put out by fire services.
Just last night the heavy wooden door of the elegant Bordeaux City Hall was destroyed by fire by people taking part in an unauthorized demonstration.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said the postponement was “humiliating” for the French President.
He told Mail Online: “The postponement of King Charles’s state visit to France, the first of his reign, marks a humiliation for President Macron. The country is descending into anarchy and it was clearly impossible to guarantee the safety of the royal party and to keep to any set schedule where security could be relied on.”
More than a million people took to the streets in protest on Thursday – the ninth day of nationwide demonstrations – as riot police used teargas, baton charges and water canon to bring crowds to order.
Debris still littered the Paris streets following the previous day’s mass demonstrations.
Protestors are enraged by the pension reforms (Image: Getty)
Over a million people went out to protest on Thursday (Image: Getty)
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Friday that some 441 police and gendarmes were injured in the demonstrations.
He added that 1,000 rubbish bins were set on fire in Paris during the previous day’s action. Refuse collectors have been on strike for a week, with rubbish bins fast becoming a symbol of the protest.
“There are thugs, often from the far-Left, who want to bring down the state and kill police officers,” said Mr Darmanin.
President Macron reforms will increase the retirement age from 62 to 64, which he says is necessary to keep the system afloat.
President Macron confirmed the state visit had been postponed (Image: Getty)
Protests are in the tenth day (Image: Getty)
French labour union CGT union announced this week that its members at Mobilier National, the institution in charge of providing flags, red carpets and furniture for public buildings, would not help prepare a Sunday reception for the king upon his arrival in Paris.
The Elysee Palace, the official residence of President Macron, issued a statement confirming the postponement of the state visit.
They said: “In light of yesterday’s announcement of a new national day of action against pension reforms on Tuesday, March 28, in France, the visit of King Charles III, originally scheduled for March 26 to 29 in our country, will be postponed.
“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. This state visit will be rescheduled as soon as possible.”
Source: EXPRESS CO UK
