Social anger over pensions in France threatens to disrupt next week’s visit by British sovereign Charles III, whom opposition politicians are calling for to be canceled and who is “in the sights” of trade unionists. Green MP Sandrine Rousseau on Wednesday asked 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 the society which is rising” against the pension reform.
The unions promise to continue the mobilization
“Incredible, we are going to have Emmanuel Macron, the Republican monarch, who is going to receive Charles III, who is going to go down the Champs-Elysées, who is going to have dinner in Versailles, while the people in the street are demonstrating”, s’ is she outraged on BFMTV and RMC. “Let him cancel this visit from 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 transport company TBM.
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 is making his first state visit abroad as sovereign from March 26 to 29. In addition to a dinner organized at the Palace of Versailles, he will meditate at the Arc de Triomphe before addressing the Senate, a first for a British monarch. He will also go to Bordeaux where he must travel by tram.
Emmanuel Macron “is certainly more comfortable with the monarchs than with the elected representatives of the people to whom he denies the right to vote on his pension reform”, tackled Ian Brossat, spokesperson for the PCF, after the adoption at the forceps of this text via article 49.3 of the Constitution. Socialist Senator Rémi Cardon for his part observed that “there will be no walkabout” from Charles III and Emmanuel Macron. On the far left, the spokesperson for the New Anti-Capitalist Party (NPA) Olivier Besancenot summed up, hilarious, on franceinfo: Charles III, “we are going to welcome him with a good old general strike!”