King Charles III France visit postponed
France: Days after the French government passed much-despised President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms; this decision has created unrest among citizens throughout the country.
During a nationwide protest over the latest reforms which will incrementally increase the retirement age from 62 to 64, more than 450n people were arrested and almost 440 security personnel were injured.
According to the Unions, they claimed that 3.5 million workers protested on Thursday, while the government said the number was closer to 1 million.
King Charles III’s trip postponed
Amid the ongoing unrest across the country, the officials have postponed a planned visit by Britain’s King Charles III. According to the media reports, the demonstrators had demanded that Charles cancel his trip, which was scheduled to commence from Sunday onwards.
However, on Friday, there were no major protests planned, the train traffic was slowed, rows of trucks blocked access to Mar Marseille’s port for several hours and debris still littered the streets of Paris following Thursday’s mass demonstrations.
During the king’s first trip abroad as Britain’s monarch, King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla planned to visit both France and Germany, however, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office said another date would be found for the French leg.
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Official statement
Speaking to the media, the PMO office 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,” they added.
Charles had been scheduled to visit the city of Bordeaux on the second day of his trip to France. The heavy wooden door of the elegant Bordeaux City Hall was destroyed by fire Thursday night by people taking part in an unauthorized demonstration.
Mayor Pierre Hurmic said he had “difficulty understanding the interest of such acts of vandalism.”
Before the king’s visit was postponed, Hurmic said he hoped it wouldn’t get cancelled. “I hope that we do not give this gift to the thugs,” he said.
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