Lots of pomp, symbolic gestures, all the pomp of which the French Republic is capable: Emmanuel Macron received King Charles III and Queen Camilla with honors, Wednesday September 20, for the first day of an official visit of sixty- twelve hours of the British monarch in France.
This stay, the first of his reign in France, was initially planned for March but was postponed because of the demonstrations which accompanied the adoption of the pension reform. It essentially aims to showcase the proximity and friendship between France and the United Kingdom, the links between the two countries having been weakened by Brexit.
Just after his arrival at Orly – he came from the United Kingdom by plane, for security reasons – Charles III, 74, joined the French president at the Arc de Triomphe to rekindle the flame of the Soldier’s tomb unknown to the sound of the bagpipes, while Camilla barely held on to her pink fascinator battered by the gusts. After meeting a hand-picked audience made up of veterans and students from a Franco-British school – the onlookers had been kept at a good distance and the Champs-Elysées emptied – the king and his host went to plant an oak tree in the gardens of the British embassy, then isolated themselves for a tête-à-tête at the Elysée, from the pediment of which the Union Jack flew.
The two men again exchanged very appropriate ceremonial gifts. The king opted for a complete edition of Letters about the English by Voltaire; Emmanuel Macron offered an original edition of Roots of Heaven by Romain Gary, a plea in favor of protecting the planet, an interest known to the British sovereign. The President of the Republic and his guest ended the day by presiding over a sumptuous dinner in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles, with 160 guests including Mick Jagger, Charlotte Gainsbourg, the CEO of the luxury group LVMH Bernard Arnault, and a good part of the French government.
After Brexit, rebuild trust
Between two toasts, Charles III spoke of the first trip to Paris of his parents, Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II, who died a year ago. It was 1948; they were newlyweds and they had danced until the early hours to songs by Edith Piaf. “Perhaps that’s why La vie en rose remains my favorite song »he said, before, a little more seriously, praising the cordial understanding between France and the United Kingdom: “This is an enduring alliance, whatever the future may bring, may it continue faithful and steadfast for centuries to come.”launched the monarch. “Despite Brexit, I know that we will continue to partly write the future of our continent together, to meet the challenges and to serve the causes that we have in common”, replied Emmanuel Macron.
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