King Charles III has postponed his state visit to France. The Elysée and Buckingham Palace report this on Friday. Social unrest over the French pension reform threatened to disrupt the announced visit of the British monarch. Trade unions had previously made it known that they wanted to use the royal visit to draw attention to social outrage with new protests. A new national action day against the pension reform is scheduled for Tuesday 28 March.
Charles III’s visit to France, scheduled for March 26-29, would be his first state visit abroad as king. France receiving Charles’s first state visit has been seen as an honor and has been seen by analysts as a boost to UK-France relations.
According to the Elysée’s statement, the decision to postpone was “taken by the French and British governments, following a telephone conversation between the President of the Republic and the King.” The French hope that the visit can continue “as soon as possible”.