France

King Charles III's state visit to France has been postponed after a request by President Emmanuel Macron, Downing Street says. The president said "we would ...

The King and Camilla were due to ride along the Champs-Elysées in the heart of Paris and have a banquet at Versailles with President Macron. Dining with a king in Versailles would have been jarringly inappropriate and could have played rather too directly into the hands of his detractors. "I listened to Macron yesterday and it was as if someone was spitting in our face," said Adèle, a 19-year-old law student in Nanterre. The town hall, its front door set alight on Thursday, was due to be part of the visit. Interior Minister Mr Darmanin said earlier on Friday that there were "no known threats" to the King. All the background briefing had been that this was an important diplomatic statement about rebuilding relationships with European neighbours. The decision is a significant loss of face for France and for President Macron. [Camilla was expected to open an art exhibition](https://www.royal.uk/king-and-queen-consort-will-undertake-state-visits-france-and-germany) at one of the main Paris attractions, the Musée d'Orsay. Some UK journalists had already travelled to Paris to cover the event. Mr Macron said France had proposed moving the trip to early summer, "when things calm down again". Several French cities saw violence on the sidelines of Thursday's largely peaceful demonstrations that attracted more than a million people. Common sense and friendship led us to suggest a postponement."

Charles and Camilla were due to begin a four-day trip to France on Sunday but after a night of violent nationwide demonstrations that led to hundreds of arrests ...

“It is all about the fact that it is no longer safe for the King to go there.” “It was significant in that it was the first state visit of the reign but there will be other opportunities.” The situation meant there was “an inevitability that the state visit would have to be postponed because it just was challenging on so many levels”, according to Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty Magazine.

The decision comes after trade unions called for more demonstrations against Emmanuel Macron's controversial pension reforms during the planned royal trip.

"France is dangerous right now, with the protests. A UK government spokesman said: "This decision was taken with the consent of all parties, after the president of France asked the British government to postpone the visit." In a statement, the Elysee Palace said: "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. [France](https://news.sky.com/topic/france-5933), which was to begin on Sunday and be followed by a state visit to [Germany](https://news.sky.com/topic/germany-5934), had been in the planning by the UK and host nations for months, aimed at strengthening ties between Britain and its European allies. [Mr Macron](https://news.sky.com/topic/emmanuel-macron-6240) said the state visit would make "no sense" in the middle of the nationwide protests. A joint decision was taken by the British and French governments after trade unions called for a further day of nationwide strikes and demonstrations during the planned visit by

The violence was prompted by French President Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms, which aim to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64. The situation meant ...

“It is all about the fact that it is no longer safe for the King to go there.” “It was significant in that it was the first state visit of the reign but there will be other opportunities.” The situation meant there was “an inevitability that the state visit would have to be postponed because it just was challenging on so many levels”, according to Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty Magazine.

The graves of Lieutenant (Lt) Harold Rymer Smith and Second Lieutenant (2ndLt) Wilfred John Massey Lynch, who were killed on the Western Front in the spring ...

The tribute paid by Lt Smith’s family, sums up beautifully the significance of these rededication services to families such as those of Lt Smith and 2ndLt Massey Lynch. It brings us all peace in our hearts today to finally stand at your grave and offer you our blessings, our love and the care you deserve. The German attack ultimately failed to take the ground needed to launch their attack on Amiens and Operation Michael came to a close the following day with the strategic city still in Allied hands. After the war 2nd Lt Massey Lynch’s body was recovered and he was buried as an unknown Officer of 3rd Dragoon Guards in Crucifix Corner Cemetery, in Villers- Bretonneux. I shall mark 23 March as a special day to remember both Wilfred and all those who gave their lives in the Great War. Captain G Adams later reported that Lt Smith had been lying on the stretcher next to him and that he had died. The aim of the Spring Offensive was to use the advantage of Germany’s newly released troops to force a victory in the west before the Americans could deploy their forces in strength. Choosing the wording on the headstone and attending the service of rededication allows us to do what Harold’s parents and siblings never could. Lt Smith and 2ndLt Massey Lynch were killed at the beginning and end respectively of Operation Michael which lasted from 21 March to 5 April 1918. On 19 March 1918, 2/6th Battalion The North Staffordshire, to which Lt Smith belonged, moved into the Bullecourt Sector and took up positions in support around Ecoust-Saint-Mein. Had the German Spring Offensive of 1918, in which they fell, been successful then the outcome of the First World War could have been very different. It is thanks to men such as Lt Smith and 2nd Lt Massey Lynch, who paid the ultimate sacrifice during such fierce fighting, that the Allies were able to stem the German advance and bring the war to a conclusion later that year.

The world has reacted to violent demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms with warnings, questions about the future of France's ...

she said Friday in a message on her Telegram account, which was accompanied by a video showing overturned cars on a French street. One of the main pro-government sites reported that "according to information on the ground, the situation continues to deteriorate". "France can't go on like this. It's time to end the Fifth Republic, with its all-powerful presidency... They are much more attentive to their rights. "When is Macron going to start delivering weapons to French citizens to support democracy and the sovereignty of the country?"

PARIS—Since he took office six years ago, French President Emmanuel Macron has hardly had a moment of plain sailing. First came the so-called yellow vests, ...

[30 percent](https://www.oecd.org/governance/trust-in-government/) of the French said they had confidence in the government, more than 10 points lower than the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development average. “We can expect [Macron’s] Renaissance party to struggle in the European elections,” Belin said. In a sign that despite the tensions it’s still possible to find some common ground, text that facilitates the construction of new nuclear reactors was approved with a large majority by the National Assembly this week. [polls](https://www.ifop.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/119808-Rapport.pdf), Le Pen is the public figure that best embodies the opposition to Macron’s pension reform, closely followed by radical left-wing firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon. With the exception of budget bills, the 49.3 procedure can only be invoked once per parliamentary term, and Macron, who still has four years in the top job, will need to reach out to the opposition to get things done. The article is a key provision of a constitution largely shaped by former French President Charles de Gaulle’s desire to have a stable political system as he established the Fifth Republic in 1958, after a decade of short-lived, inefficient cabinets. With his time in office going by fast, “he is trying to push through at all costs a number of reforms that he considers essential.” “They want to govern by decree, without the National Assembly,” said Raquel Garrido, a parliamentarian with La France Insoumise left-wing party. Meanwhile, thousands of tons of trash continue to pile up in the streets of Paris and other cities, as a result of rolling walkouts by garbage collectors. Macron has always aspired to play a large role in Europe and beyond, and observers expect him to focus even more on international issues in the coming years in a bid to seek respite from his troubles at home. With two-thirds of the French Strikers are disrupting public transport and road traffic in parts of the country on a daily basis as well as blockading several oil refineries and depots, causing fuel shortages at gas stations and airports.

Since Emmanuel Macron forced through his plans to raise the pension age in France last week, public dismay over the change to a fiercely protected feature ...

But most observers believe opposition to the plans is too baked in for that tactic to succeed, and that even if he prevails on this policy, he is likely to be hamstrung for the rest of his presidency. Macron’s decision to force his plan through parliament without a vote is opposed by 82% of voters, and 65% want protests to continue even if the proposals become law. That leads critics to argue that Macron’s approach is too combative and stark, and to claim that he is instead prioritising tax cuts for businesses even as he tries to get the national deficit below an EU target of 3%. Versions of the debate in France are likely to be reproduced elsewhere over the coming years. They are proud of the fact that French pensioners are less likely to live in poverty than those in most other European countries. [made a live TV appearance](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/22/emmanuel-macron-says-he-will-not-back-down-over-pension-age-rise-france) to defend his plan to raise the official retirement age in France from 62 to 64 – and if any of his opponents were hoping for a message of compromise, they were sorely disappointed. They reject tax increases as an alternative model, saying that France already has an unusually high tax burden, and say that demographic changes make some kind of change inevitable: while there were 2.1 workers for each retiree in 2000, the ratio was 1.7 in 2020 and is expected to reach 1.2 by 2070. One quick index of the breadth of the anger can be seen in this This time around, he has taken a simpler approach: instead of merging the country’s 42 separate pension schemes, he argues that asking people to work for two more years can make the system sustainable in the long term. They say that the president’s move to force the reforms through without a vote has raised wider concerns about the state of French democracy. But Marylise Léon, the deputy secretary general of the CFDT union, called the trouble “a response to the falsehoods expressed by the president and his incomprehensible stubbornness”. Macron ruled out any change to the deeply unpopular policy, and also rejected calls for a reshuffle of his government or the resignation of his prime minister, Élisabeth Borne.

The decision was taken after President Macron asked the British Government to postpone the visit, Downing Street said. Images of the town hall of Bordeaux – a ...

“This decision was taken with the consent of all parties, after the President of France asked the British Government to postpone the visit.” “Their Majesties greatly look forward to the opportunity to visit France as soon as dates can be found.” The decision was taken after President Macron asked the British Government to postpone the visit, Downing Street said.

King Charles's state visit to France has been postponed amid planned protests over the French government's controversial pension reforms.

Charles and Camilla were due to travel from France to Germany on Wednesday for a state visit. However a decision to postpone the visit was made after In Bordeaux, demonstrators set fire to the entrance of the city hall during skirmishes with police, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV.

Fury at President Emmanuel Macron's decision to bypass parliament on pension reform has sparked days of unrest across the country, reviving scrutiny of ...

“The president seems in no mood to compromise, so we can only imagine the crisis will drag on.” In the current context, Roché added, heavy-handed policing stems from the “crisis of authority” undermining Macron’s minority and deeply unpopular government. “It follows a nationwide strategy, which is why you see large-scale arrests everywhere and not at the discretion of local police forces.” On Friday, the Council of Europe became the latest body to condemn police’s “excessive use of force”. He also accused trade unions of refusing to seek a compromise. “This could end up in tragedy: the death of a protester.” Meanwhile, lawmakers from the left-wing opposition denounced a campaign aimed at intimidating protesters with threats of arrest. In Paris alone, more than 420 people were detained during the first three days of protests triggered by Macron’s decision to bypass parliament last Thursday. He pointed to a special motorised unit known as the BRAV-M, whose baton-wielding officers are frequently accused of beating people at random – be they protesters, bystanders or journalists covering the rallies. “By remaining invisible, we avoid contact with the hardliners who are merely looking for a fight.” Heavy-handed police tactics have in turn exacerbated the unrest, in a spiral of violence that France is all too familiar with. Darmanin, typically considered a hardliner in Macron’s government, was among ministers who pleaded with the president not to trigger article 49.3 – and for good reason.

Monarch's state trip had been part of Government's strategy to renew historic ties with Europe following Brexit.

[In one incident in Paris](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/03/24/france-protests-why-setting-fire-e-scooters/), graffiti was daubed on a wall reading: “Charles III do you know the guillotine?” The France visit is likely to be rescheduled for the beginning of summer. “An enormous effort has gone into the planning of this trip on both sides - the Royal family are not unaware of that. Commentators suggested that it would have been the president's “Marie Antoinette moment”. It was due to coincide with the formal adoption of the Windsor Framework, the new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland, which was formally signed on Friday. [protests offered an “appalling image of France abroad](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/03/23/watch-bordeaux-town-hall-goes-flames-violence-france-rages/)”. [fresh wave of protests next Tuesday](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/03/20/macron-survives-no-confidence-vote-pension-reforms/), it became obvious that continuing with the royal visit “lacked a certain dose of common sense”. [planned two-day visit to Germany](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2023/03/24/what-king-charles-really-thinks-european-union/), which is due to start on Wednesday, although the schedule remains under review. [he stood by his pension reform](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/03/18/macron-regrets-nothing-protest-france-pension-reforms-unions/), as an “act of war”. [links to the revolt against Louis XVI](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/03/23/france-protests-emmanuel-macron-pension-reforms-charles-de-gaulle/), who was beheaded. [subtly removing a luxury watch from his wrist](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/03/24/emmanuel-macron-removes-luxury-watch-pensions-interview/) during a key television interview on the reforms. [increasingly violent clashes](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/03/24/france-pension-protests-pictures-paris-barricades-bordeaux-fire/) over his decision to force through pension reforms.

PARIS — French citizens angry at President Emmanuel Macron's pension reforms engaged in scattered protest actions Friday, as the ongoing unrest across the ...

"The king and queen consort's state visit to France has been postponed," the prime minister's Downing Street office said. However, fuel supplies to Paris from the large Gonfreville-L'Orcher refinery in Normandy resumed Friday after police intervened, French Energy Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said. The heavy wooden door of the elegant Bordeaux City Hall was destroyed by fire Thursday night by people taking part in an unauthorized demonstration. He still plans to go to Germany, but British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office said another date would be found for the French leg. Polls show that most French people oppose having to work two more years before retiring, which Macron says is necessary to keep the pension system afloat. Demonstrators had demanded that Charles cancel his trip, which was scheduled to start Sunday.

Days after the French government passed much-despised pension reforms, chaos reigns throughout the country.

What’s more, there are claims that agitators have taken advantage of the discord to wreak havoc. For background on why President Emmanuel Macron says the reforms are central to plugging France’s ballooning debt hole and boosting productivity, see [here.](https://www.gzeromedia.com/macrons-big-gamble) Either way, it was the most violent day in a series of protests that have gripped the country for months.

PARIS — France is protesting against Emmanuel Macron's plans to raise the retirement age. After months of strikes and protests, tension reached its peak on ...

That constitutional maneuver added a new layer to existing angriness, [protesters say](https://www.politico.eu/article/france-emmanuel-macron-protest-against-democratic-gap-in-macrons-pensions-reform/). [compared](https://www.politico.eu/article/macron-digs-in-stands-by-no-alternative-pensions-reform-opposition-parties-trade-unionists-parliamentary-vote-elisabeth-borne/) violent protests with subversive riots [in the U.S](https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/06/how-capitol-hill-riots-started-455654). [to point out](https://youtu.be/Ah-_JmvULJc?t=410) that the retirement age in France is among the lowest in Europe — a comparison that could make international observers wonder why the French are so reluctant to adapt their pension system to rising life expectancy. [hard to compare](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/les-decodeurs/article/2023/03/01/french-pension-reform-why-comparing-european-systems-is-hardly-relevant_6017744_8.html) and France is closer to its neighbors when comparing the effective retirement age. or [in Brazil](https://www.politico.eu/article/jair-bolsonaro-brazil-far-right-riot-investigation/). At last year’s parliamentary election, Macron lost an outright majority in the French National Assembly and the decision to skip a parliamentary vote on the reform [further exposed](https://www.politico.eu/article/macron-invokes-nuclear-option-to-force-through-his-pensions-reform-in-huge-political-setback/) the president’s weakness. Protesters POLITICO [spoke with](https://www.politico.eu/article/france-emmanuel-macron-protest-against-democratic-gap-in-macrons-pensions-reform/) are furious with Macron for the reform — which would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, and extend contributions to get a full pension — but also for [bypassing](https://www.politico.eu/article/macron-invokes-nuclear-option-to-force-through-his-pensions-reform-in-huge-political-setback/) a parliamentary vote. They are also multiple [allegations of police brutality](https://www.francetvinfo.fr/economie/retraite/reforme-des-retraites/temoignages-je-me-suis-fait-tabasser-gratuitement-plusieurs-manifestants-contre-la-reforme-des-retraites-denoncent-des-violences-policieres_5724542.html), something that has fueled the fire of demonstrations in recent years, including during the Yellow Jacket crisis. In parallel, the Constitutional Council is In theory, the reform is done. Violent actions and vandalism have been a key feature of Yellow Jacket protests everywhere in France. Some protesters were wearing their fluorescent uniform during marches in Paris and some small spontaneous Yellow Jacket meetings are

Saturday's papers lead on protests in France and the King's cancelled meeting with Emmanuel Macron.

The Telegraph called it the "beginning of the end" of asylum hotels, which are being used to house more than 50,000 migrants at a cost of nearly £7m a day. Senior teachers tell the paper that "Ofsted's punishing inspection regime" is driving them out of the profession. The Sun is reporting that the former prime minister, Liz Truss, has nominated four of her closest political allies, who backed her mini-budget, for peerages, despite serving as PM for just 49 days and sparking a market meltdown. The paper thinks the decision has left the UK's "reset" with the EU in "disarray". The paper say Mr Macron has been mocked over what it calls his "Marie Antoinette moment" - as he hid his "£2,100 watch" during a television interview. The royal tour is axed after fears for the safety of the King, declares

Here, seven people in France share their views on pension reform and the protests. 'I'm not averse to changing the system'. “The system is fed by the ...

The population is getting older and there are fewer people to finance the system. “The anger is not going to go away. “I was at the protest in Avignon [on Thursday] morning and it was peaceful. “For me it’s not about the pension reform any more. “There was no democratic process in the way it was done – we feel very looked down on. [Many] people feel democracy is very broken – that’s why there was low turnout at the last election. “The problem is not raising the pension age per se. “The reforms are not fair to people who have physically demanding jobs and women who may take time off work for parenting and will now have to work for longer. It’s about the system of governance. Had there been a conservative government in place, the new law would have been considerably tougher. “I have attended all the protests in my city since February, although I’m nine months pregnant. I’m not averse to changing the system but it should have been done with more consultation.

Emmanuel Macron's push to raise retirement age without vote in National Assembly sparks nationwide outrage.

How can we hear that the street has no legitimacy?” may bypass a vote in the National Assembly on bills relating to state and social security budgets.” This reform isn’t a luxury, it’s not a pleasure, it’s a necessity,” he said. “There are troublemakers, often extreme left, who want to take down the state and kill police and ultimately take over the institutions,” he added. [a defiant tone](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/france-protests-macron-pensions-retirement-b2306129.html) in a television interview, insisting his reforms need to be implemented by the “end of the year” as a matter of financial necessity that cannot be achieved by simply introducing higher taxes for the wealthy, his superior manner entirely failing to calm the tensions. [France](/topic/france) has been rocked by [angry protests](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/emmanuel-macron-ap-france-paris-unions-b2304995.html) across the country, with demonstrators blocking airports and railway stations and even [ setting fire to Bordeaux’s city hall.](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/king-charles-france-paris-protests-latest-b2307370.html)

As France frets about an extended drought and prospects for more wildfires in another long summer, one blaze that erupted eight months ago in the southwest ...

For the past few years, there has been a push for planting more hardwood trees, such as oak or birch. "It's going to be exceptionally costly, and so far we have zero." Columns of white, acrid smoke rise from a forest floor outside the town of Hostens in the Gironde region, south of Bordeaux. "Now, it's the desert. It looks like the moon, it's dreadful." "It's been burning since mid-July," said Guillaume Carnir, who works for France’s National Forest Agency (ONF).

Sylvie Bermann said plans for a banquet at the Palace of Versailles for Charles and Camilla would 'not have given a good image'.

“Bordeaux looked to be difficult as well for the visit the King was planning to make. “It is true that the dinner in Versailles would not have given a good image while there is unrest in France.” “But it was impossible, not only because of security but because it wouldn’t have been the best conditions. Mr Macron is said to have spoken with the King to relay the reasons for needing to postpone the scheduled trip in a move that is being seen as embarrassing for the French leader. At a press conference on Friday, the president said the four-day state visit was likely to be rescheduled for the beginning of summer. A former French ambassador to the UK said it would have been “impossible” for President Emmanuel Macron to have hosted Charles during civil unrest in the country.

Grandeur of royal couple's visit amid protests would have been 'bad idea', says Lord Ricketts.

In a statement on Friday, Buckingham Palace said: “The king and the queen consort’s state visit to France has been postponed. “Not only because of security but because it wouldn’t have been the best conditions. So, as it turned out, the circumstances were not right, in which case it is right to postpone.” There was concern protesters would target the Palace of Versailles, where a dinner was due to be held. That had all kinds of echoes from the past going back to the revolution. A visit could instead take place at the start of the summer.

Emmanuel Macron has been criticised for caving to 'half-woke half-Bolivarian revolutionaries' in delaying state visit.

But the president said that while he was "at unions' disposal" to discuss issues relating to labour, the pension reform was now in the hands of the Constitutional Council, France's highest constitutional court, which must rule within a month whether it is viable. Le Figaro's front page read: "Charles III: at the heart of the crisis, an avowal of powerlessness". On Monday, the figure was put at 20 per cent in both. Opponents claim the "megabasins" are wrongly reserved for large export-oriented grain farms and deprive the community of access to the essential resource. But an Elysée source was quoted as saying: "A state visit between our two countries cannot be mezzo voce, especially after the Boris Johnson period. More than 3,000 police officers will face off against what they predicted could be up to 1,500 "violent activists" from among a crowd of up to 10,000 today.

Under-fire Emmanuel Macron cites 'risk of incidents' amid widespread protests over pension reform.

This decision was taken with the consent of all parties, after the President of France asked the British Government to postpone the visit.” The French have been pulling out all the stops to welcome the new king in style. [mountains of trash](https://www.politico.eu/article/regicide-and-bin-bag-revolt-welcome-to-france-your-majesty-macron-wildly-unpopular-decision-british-pierre-henri-dumont-king-charles/) accumulating on the streets — an unlikely setting for a visiting king. to have attempted to maintain the trip with the risk of incidents,” he told reporters during a press conference in Brussels. France has faced social unrest and outbursts of violence since Macron last week forced through a deeply unpopular pensions reform, using a controversial constitutional maneuver to bypass a vote in parliament. The visit was to be Charles’ first overseas visit as U.K.

Police cars burned, demonstrators threw fireworks and officers fired tear gas into the crowds when thousands descended on a farm in western France to ...

[has been postponed](https://news.sky.com/story/king-and-queen-consorts-state-visit-to-france-postponed-over-violent-protests-12841276) amid the ongoing violence and unrest. A protester is in a critical condition and an injured officer has been flown from the scene by helicopter as police clash with thousands of people opposed to plans for a large water reservoir in France. [piles of rubbish set alight on the streets of Paris](https://news.sky.com/story/french-anger-shows-no-sign-of-abating-after-macron-forces-through-rise-in-pension-age-12841236), riot police firing tear gas and more than 300 arrests. Police fired tear gas to repel some protesters who threw fireworks and other projectiles as they crossed fields to approach the construction area in the district. Police cars burned, demonstrators threw fireworks and officers fired tear gas into the crowds when thousands descended on a farm in western France to protest against plans for an irrigation reservoir. France protests: Demonstrator in critical condition and 16 officers injured as French police clash with people opposed to reservoir plans