The visit of King Charlie and Queen Camilla was postponed earlier in the year due to robust protests at President Macron’s pension ‘reforms’.
They are now in France for several days including a banquet at the Palace of Versailles where presumably the Royals will compare and contrast 1789 and 1649 with the Macrons. They will also visit an organic vineyard in Bordeaux.
The visit is taking place at the same time as the Rugby World Cup in France and the Pope is also due.
All police leave has been cancelled and the Times reports that officials are keen to avoid public order disturbances.
8,000 extra police are on duty for the Palace of Versailles banquet and 10,000 police for a Royal visit to Notre Dame on Thursday.
I would predict a riot, probably one started by the police except you can’t predict a riot
Update. My prediction that you can’t predict a riot was correct….
There were large marches in France on 23rd September against institutional racism and police violence and for civil rights. However Charles and Camilla together with the Royal Bentley were already back in England.
The Banquet at the Palace of Versailles featured such luminaries as Mick Jagger and Arsene Wenger, while Charles and Camilla found crowds (quite how large is unclear) in Bordeaux waving Union Jacks. The Times (Editorial 23rd September) opined that the visit had been a model of Royal diplomacy unlike Tory Government diplomacy.
The anger of earlier in the year on both sides of the Channel remains but for the moment the Royals are not the focus (Macron is). Predicting riots historically and in the present day is as difficult as giving an entirely correct weather forecast
Keith Flett is the Editor of A History of Riots (CSP 2015)
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