King Charles is set to embark on a visit to France in September, following the cancellation of a previously planned trip in March due to protests against pension reforms.
The initial three-day visit would have marked Charles’s first official overseas state visit since assuming the throne after the passing of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
However, the visit was postponed due to social unrest sparked by French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposed pension reforms.
The Élysée Palace expressed that King Charles’s forthcoming visit is regarded as an “honour”.
“It will bear witness to the depth of the historical ties that unite our two countries and our two peoples, and will contribute to honouring French excellence and know-how,” a statement said.
The King, accompanied by Queen Camilla, had originally planned a tour of Paris and Bordeaux, marking the initial leg of their journey, which would also include Germany.
The March visit had been slated to coincide closely with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s participation in a summit held in Paris.
However, the uproar in France was triggered by President Macron’s utilization of executive authority to push forward his proposed retirement age increase without a parliamentary vote.
This led to widespread protests across France, with tens of thousands of demonstrators converging on Place de la Concorde in Paris. The protests extended to other major cities like Marseille, Nantes, Amiens, and Dijon, prompting police to employ tear gas.
As a result of the ongoing unrest, the royal trip was postponed. Instead, King Charles and Queen Camilla headed directly to Germany. During this visit, King Charles achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first UK monarch to address the German Bundestag while it was in session. The royal couple also paid visits to a Hamburg church that had been destroyed during World War II and the Kindertransport Memorial, a sculpture commemorating the 1938 rescue and evacuation of approximately 10,000 Jewish children to Britain.
The rescheduled visit to France is now scheduled to take place from September 20 to 22.