Charles III does not come to France, the English breathe… – France

It is a decision that was expected, if not hoped for in the UK. For several days, the British press had been talking about the possibility of postponing Charles III’s visit to France. After a telephone exchange, this Friday morning, between the President of the Republic and the King, the decision was made.

Behind the scenes of a postponement

It all happened on Thursday evening, when territorial intelligence would have alerted the Élysée of the possibility of numerous punching actions to disrupt the movement of Charles III. It is therefore Emmanuel Macron who would have taken the initiative to postpone this highly anticipated meeting, a change of program readily accepted by Buckingham Palace which, since the beginnings of social movements, has been following the situation in France on a day-to-day basis. the day.

If there is a certain relief in the United Kingdom to see Charles III not coming to France in this context and if the British press mentions very bad timing for Charles III’s visit, we also consider that it is a political blow for Emmanuel Macron not to have succeeded in bringing order and calm to his country on the eve of a royal visit.

“Irreformable” or exemplary French people

When the BBC evokes a France that would be “irreformable”, others admire this ability of their neighbors to fight for their rights. This is the case of the Financial Times columnist, Simon Kuper, who believes that “the world can only learn from the French”. For several days, the British media have relayed the images of the demonstrations on a loop.

The newspaper The Times even devoted, at the beginning of the week, a double page to the strike of the Parisian garbage collectors. It must be said that our history echoes theirs. Nurses, midwives, paramedics… Since last summer, the United Kingdom has been experiencing social movements not seen since the Thatcher era.

France on fire seen from London

On television this week, we describe a France that is burning and the royal commentators welcomed, this Friday, the joint decision to postpone, specifying that the entourage of the sovereign had been worried for a few days. On the other side of the Channel, we finally observe, between amusement, consternation, but not without a certain admiration, this French neighbor who is making his revolution.

It was France that Charles III had chosen for his first state visit as king, his meeting with Emmanuel Macron could be postponed to the beginning of the summer, after his coronation. On the other hand, his trip to Germany, scheduled for next week, is still on the royal agenda. It is an infinitely more serene Berlin that awaits the sovereign on Wednesday…