Charles and Camilla’s state visit to France causes trouble even before they arrive

France had Charles III. wanted to visit first after his accession to the throne, but then preferred to come to Germany in March. The protests against head of state Emmanuel Macron at the time destroyed the British monarch’s first state visit. Now, half a year late, the time has finally come.

The British royal couple will be in France for a three-day state visit to Paris and Bordeaux. To kick things off, the two will be welcomed with a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris in the afternoon. The French presidential palace sees the visit as a sign of the strong ties between France and Great Britain.

King Charles III wants to speak to French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday. In addition to British-French relations, the conversation will also focus on the situation in the Sahel and Ukraine. The two also want to exchange ideas on climate and biodiversity, it was said from Paris. Macron and Charles have a friendly and trusting relationship.

Criticism of the pompous state banquet for Charles and Camilla in Versailles

In the evening, Macron and his wife Brigitte will host a state banquet for the royal couple with numerous guests at the famous Palace of Versailles just outside Paris. The left-wing opposition has already criticized the pompous ceremony with up to 180 guests as completely inappropriate. “The images will do massive damage to Macron in the current context,” says political scientist Benjamin Morel.

Charles III is following in the footsteps of his mother Elizabeth II in France. During her time in office, she experienced nine French presidents and was invited to Versailles three times, more often than any other foreign head of state. In 1957, a state banquet was held in her honor in the palace’s pompous Hall of Mirrors.

The menu at the time included goose foie gras with truffles, Charolais beef, a mushroom dish and snipe fillet, as well as a Bordeaux vintage of 1928. In front of each guest there was a basket of red sugar roses, the newspaper “Le Monde” reported at the time. The menu for Charles III. and Camilla has not yet been published, although the king has been avoiding foie gras for a long time for animal welfare reasons. It is not yet known whether he wants to give up beef because of his commitment to the climate in France.

Charles preferred to come to Germany

The British royal couple had actually wanted to travel to France in March (March 26th to 29th) – for King Charles’ first state visit after his accession to the throne. Due to the violent protests against Macron’s reform to gradually increase the retirement age from 62 to 64, the visit was postponed at short notice. For Macron it was another blow in the uncomfortable battle over his reform. Due to the cancellation, Germany moved up to the king’s first goal (March 29th to 31st).

The British media was more concerned with a meeting between opposition leader Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Tuesday than the upcoming visit of their king. According to polls, Starmer’s Labor Party is well ahead of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s ruling Conservatives in terms of popularity. The French president’s reception was widely seen as confirmation that Starmer is, in the eyes of the world, a prime minister-to-be.

The talks with Macron were “very constructive,” Starmer told British journalists after the meeting. It covered a wide range of topics, including “the relationship between our two countries” and “prosperity and security”. Starmer had announced in recent days that he would strive for a closer relationship with his European neighbors and the EU if his party wins the general election expected next year.