1 of 3 | France said Friday it was postponing a state visit by King Charles III due to begin Sunday after unions called for a fresh wave of strikes and protests next week that would occur while he and Queen Consort Camilla were in the country. Photo by WPA Pool/Royal Family/UPI. |
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March 24 (UPI) -- A state visit to France by Britain's King Charles III has been postponed after nationwide protests against government changes to pensions that brought more than a million people onto the streets spiraled into violence, the Elysee Palace said Friday.
The announcement came just minutes after the country's Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin gave assurances that there were "no known threats" to the king after scenes of violent chaos across the country and the torching of Bordeaux's city hall close to where Charles was due to open a new British consulate Tuesday.
No reason was given for the postponement of the three-day visit which the Elysee Palace said would be rescheduled, but it is believed to be a precautionary measure after unions vowing to keep up the pressure called for another day of strikes and protests on Tuesday.
Protesters cheered as part of the historic Palais Rohan was engulfed in flames late Thursday in the southern city due to host the king and Queen Consort Camilla in just four days' time as part of a state visit to the country -- his first since acceding to the throne in September.
Tuesday's action would coincide with when the royal couple were due to be in the city on day three of the visit. Drivers of a tram route they are scheduled to ride into the center of the city have already said they will not transport the royal couple.
Kicking off Sunday in Paris, the visit was to have included a ride along the Champs-Elysees and a state banquet at the Palace of Versailles with President Emmanuel Macron.
There were many other reports of damage in cities across the country Thursday amid chaotic scenes on the largest day of strikes and demonstrations so far in a battle over plans to raise the age at which retirees receive their state pension from 62 to 64.
Interior Minister Darmanin said about 80 people were arrested as 123 police personnel were injured.
Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne, who presided over the passage of the pension reform legislation in the National Assembly without a vote by MPs, condemned the scenes of violence and destruction.
"Demonstrating and voicing disagreements is a right. The violence and degradation we have witnessed today is unacceptable. All my gratitude to the police and rescue forces mobilized,'' she said in a Twitter post.
The pension changes are opposed by trade unions and the majority of people but Macron, who has made reform of the country's generous pension system the cornerstone of his presidency, says France cannot afford the ballooning deficits it will run up over the next 25 years as the population ages.
