Europe 1 with AFP 18:33 p.m., March 22, 2023

While the British sovereign Charles III is due to visit France at the end of March, for his first state visit, the French political opposition is demanding to cancel this visit, "in the sights" of trade unionists. Buckingham Palace keeps a worried eye on the demonstrations, while the Paris police prefecture wants to be reassuring.

Social anger over pensions in France threatens to disrupt next week's visit by British sovereign Charles III, whom opposition lawmakers are calling for to be cancelled and who is "in the sights" of trade unionists. Green MP Sandrine Rousseau on Wednesday called for the cancellation of the king's visit, which is due to arrive on Sunday because, according to her, President Macron's priority must be to "discuss with society that is rising" against the pension reform.

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Unions promise to continue mobilization

"Unbelievable, we will have Emmanuel Macron, the republican monarch, who will receive Charles III, who will go down the Champs-Elysees, who will go to dinner in Versailles, while the people in the street are demonstrating," she said indignant on BFMTV and RMC. "Let him cancel this visit of Charles III!" she demanded. "Is the priority really to receive Charles III at Versailles?" she added.

On the union side, "we will continue to mobilize (against the reform) and this visit will be in our sights," warned Mathieu Obry (CGT) and Yvan Fort (FO) in the daily Sud-Ouest this week. "It is almost certain that the king will not be able to take the tramway" in Bordeaux as he planned, also anticipated Pascal Mesgueni, CFTC delegate to the TBM transport company.

The serene police headquarters, Buckingham Palace worried

If the prefect of police of Paris Laurent Nunez said he was "very serene" on BFMTV, Buckingham Palace however keeps a worried eye on the demonstrations, reports the Daily Mail which evokes additional logistical precautions. Charles III made his first state visit abroad as sovereign from 26 to 29 March. In addition to a dinner at the Palace of Versailles, he will gather at the Arc de Triomphe before addressing the Senate, a first for a British monarch. He will also travel to Bordeaux where he must travel by tram.

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Emmanuel Macron "is certainly more comfortable with monarchs than with the elected representatives of the people to whom he denies the right to vote on his pension reform," said Ian Brossat, spokesman for the PCF, after the adoption by forceps of this text via article 49.3 of the Constitution. Socialist senator Rémi Cardon observed that "there will be no crowd bath" of Charles III and Emmanuel Macron. On the far left, the spokesman of the New Anti-capitalist Party (NPA) Olivier Besancenot summarized, hilariously, on franceinfo: Charles III, "we will welcome him with a good old general strike!"