London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Violent protests in France force postponement of King Charles' visit

Violent protests in France force postponement of King Charles' visit

Britain's King Charles on Friday cancelled a state visit to France next week after social unrest over President Emmanuel Macron's new pension law erupted into some of the worst street violence seen in years across the country.

The postponement - at Macron's request - will be a major embarrassment to the French leader, who had hoped the monarch's visit would mark a symbolic step in the two countries' efforts to turn a page after years of poor relations over Britain's exit from the European Union.

Charles had been due to travel to France on Sunday for three days - in what would have been his first state visit since he succeeded his mother Queen Elizabeth as British monarch in September - before moving on to Germany.

That itinerary had been seen as a win for Macron, who has sought to position himself as Europe's de facto leader. Charles' trip would have included a lavish banquet at the Palace of Versailles.

"You can see the situation linked to the protests," Macron told a news conference during a visit to Brussels.

He added that "it would not have been serious" to host the state visit after unions announced a nationwide day of strikes and protests for Tuesday.

"Common sense and friendship pushed us to propose to postpone (the visit)."

A British government spokesperson said the decision was "taken with the consent of all parties" after Macron asked the British government to postpone the visit.

The last-minute scrapping of the visit will pile further pressure on Macron to find a way out of a crisis over his plans to raise the retirement age by two years to 64, which has seen some of France's worst unrest since the "Yellow Vest" rebellion of 2018-2019.

The Elysee said it hoped the visit would be rescheduled in the coming months.

"There were calls on social networks to disrupt the king's visit, to take action, so we didn't want to take any risks," a French source close to the matter said.

A Buckingham Palace source said Charles' visit to Germany will go ahead as planned.

The king and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, looked forward to rescheduling the visit to France "as soon as dates can be found", a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said.


STREET BATTLES


Black-clad anarchists fought street battles with police for several hours in the French capital on Thursday, ransacking a McDonald's restaurant, smashing up bus shelters and setting alight mounds of garbage that have piled up during strikes.

In Bordeaux, at the heart of one of France's best-known wine growing areas and where Charles had also been expected to visit, protesters set alight the entrance to the city hall.

"He's right not to come right now," said architecture student Mathias Sainte Agathe. "There are protests and strikes everywhere."

Weeks of protests over Macron's pension plans escalated and became more violent after his government pushed the legislation through parliament last week without a vote. His government lacks a clear majority.

The president has insisted the pensions changes are essential to keep the system funded.

Hard-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, who earlier this week said now was "not the right time" for Charles to come, welcomed the cancellation of the visit.

The left-wing opposition and some protesters often mockingly portray Macron - who began his second term in office last year - as a would-be monarch.

"The meeting of the kings in Versailles is broken up by popular censure," Melenchon tweeted.

But not all were happy that the visit was postponed.

"Why is he not coming? I don't understand," jewellery worker Razmig Kertechin said in Paris.

"We're not bad people. It's just the way it is, it's the freedom (to protest). I don't know, that's weird."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×