King Charles And Queen Camilla of Britain have landed in Paris for a three day visit.
The trip which began on Wednesday, September 20, 2023, was scheduled to take place in March but was postponed amid widespread protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms.
According to the French presidency, the visit “symbolizes the relationship of friendship and trust” between the British King and French President since they both ”have in the past worked closely together to protect biodiversity and combat global warming.”
After disembarking from the plane at Orly airport, King Charles And Queen Camilla were officially welcomed by the French Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne.
They were also received by foreign secretary James Cleverly, the UK’s ambassador to France Dame Menna Rawlings and the French Ambassador to the UK, Hélène Tréheux-Duchêne, who greeted the couple at the foot of the aircraft stairs.
The royal couple then headed off to the Arc de Triomphe, where they joined their hosts, President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, for a ceremony of remembrance and wreath-laying.
As part of the ceremony, the King was invited by the President to symbolically light the monument’s eternal flame, which burns in memory of those who died in the First and Second World Wars.
Both nations’ air forces conducted a flypast.
Afterwards, Charles, Camilla, Macron and his wife proceeded down the Champs Elysees by car towards the Elysee Palace, the president’s official residence, where Charles and Macron sat down for talks.
The King and Macron were in one car and their wives in another, escorted by two squadrons of the mounted regiment of the garde republicaine.
Big crowds turned out to see King Charles and Queen Camilla on their first State Visit to France. As they made their way along the Champs Elysees, Charles and Macron briefly stood up through the open roof of the car and waved at the crowd.
The discussion between Macron and Charles is expected to cover topics including Russia’s war in Ukraine and the migration issue as Italy’s southern island of Lampedusa was in recent days overwhelmed by people setting off from Tunisia.
There will be a state dinner on Wednesday at the Palace of Versailles, where blue lobster and a selection of French and English cheeses will be on the menu.
More than 150 guests have been invited to the banquet, including British actor Hugh Grant, rock star Mick Jagger, former Arsenal football coach Arsene Wenger, Didier Drogba, as well as French billionaire Bernard Arnault.
King Charles To Address French Senate
On Thursday, September 21, 2023, King Charles will address French lawmakers at the Senate, creating another avenue for the King to show off his language skills after he wowed his audience by switching seamlessly between German and English during a speech to Germany’s parliament in March.
King Charles, Camilla, Macron and his wife, Brigitte will later visit the Notre-Dame cathedral to view restoration works following a massive blaze in 2019 that destroyed its roof.
The monument is expected to be reopened by the end of next year.
King Charles and Macron will also both attend a reception for British and French business leaders about financing climate-related and biodiversity projects.
The King will end his trip on Friday, September 22, 2023, with a stop in Bordeaux, which is home to a large British community.
He will meet emergency workers and communities affected by the 2022 wildfires in the area and visit the Forêt Experimentale, or experimental forest, a project designed to monitor the impact of climate on urban woodlands.
King Charles will also tour a vineyard, which has pioneered a sustainable approach to wine making.
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