Violent protests in France against an unpopular pension reform forced the postponement of a visit by King Charles III at the request of Liberal President Emmanuel Macron, who on Friday rejected a union call to put his project on hold.
“We would not be serious and we would err on the side of a lack of common sense, if we propose to the king and the queen consort Camila to come for a state visit in the midst of the demonstrations,” Macron said at a press conference in Brussels, at the end of a European summit.
After a conversation in the morning between the two heads of state, London and Paris made the decision to postpone the visit that was scheduled from Sunday to Wednesday and that, according to Macron, could take place at the beginning of summer when the situation calms down.
While Buckingham Palace has already announced that the royal couple is looking forward to the opportunity to visit France as soon as dates can be found.
The call by the unions for new protests on Tuesday against the pension reform caused the cancellation of this visit, especially when the mobilization on Thursday left images of violence and disturbances throughout the country.
Radical protesters even set fire to the access to the Bordeaux mayor’s office (southwest), a city that Carlos III and Camila were to visit on Tuesday. A tribute at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and a dinner at the Palace of Versailles completed the agenda.
Courtesy.