He admits “a little stress” on the eve of receiving King Charles III and Queen Camilla, even if this does not “prevent him from continuing to manage the day-to-day affairs of the city.” » The mayor of Bordeaux Pierre Hurmic organized an informal meeting this Thursday at the town hall, which will be the first stop of the Bordeaux visit of the royal couple, who punctuates their state visit to France with a visit to Bordeaux on Friday.
“It will be a short welcome ceremony,” explains the elected environmentalist. The welcome in the courtyard of the town hall will be provided by children, and if the weather is nice it will be a musical welcome. Then, I will present to the King and Queen an archive photo exhibition on the visit of the Prince of Wales to Bordeaux in 1977 and of Queen Elizabeth in 1992. “Highlight of the ceremony, the mayor and the king will plant together” a tree in the gardens of the town hall. » Event which will be associated with the mayor of Bristol, invited for the occasion, as part of the twinning with Bordeaux which has lasted for seventy-six years.
Less than a hundred people at city hall
Pierre Hurmic specifies that there will be “fairly few people at town hall, less than a hundred” but that the municipal council will be represented in its entirety. He did not wish to specify whether former elected officials, or a former mayor, would be part of the delegation… Gifts are planned, “but I leave the primacy of information to the one who receives them” warns the mayor.
“Bordeaux is the first city in France [hormis Paris] which is visited by the new king of England, who did not choose our city of Bordeaux by chance, continues Pierre Hurmic. It is therefore an honor and recognition of what is being done in Bordeaux on the ecological and climatic challenge, which fascinates the British monarch. »
“Not common in the life of a mayor”
On the preparation of this visit, Pierre Hurmic indicates that “as soon as the principle of a state visit was agreed between the national authorities and Buckingham expressed the wish to come to Bordeaux, we joined the discussions to prepare at best this move. » Exchanges which lasted “several months”, around key messages: “the historical links between Bordeaux and the United Kingdom, then the human links, because the British community is numerous in the region but also in the city of Bordeaux, finally the common concerns about ecological and climatic issues, which color this visit to Bordeaux. »
The mayor of Bordeaux adds that he himself “prepared for this visit”, “I found out a lot about the personality of the king, to better understand his very long-standing commitment to ecology. » “It’s not common in the life of a mayor to receive a British monarch. »
Sneakers or not sneakers?
If the elected official does not want to reveal the content of his message to the monarch, he specifies that he will speak “in English, even if the king is very keen to speak in French, so I do not want to offend him. » The protocol will be “fairly classic” assures Céline Papin, assistant for international relations. “There’s nothing extravagant. » “There was no rehearsal of the welcome, it’s not theater either, and we generally know how it will go” adds Pierre Hurmic. “The most worrying thing, and what took the most time, was security. I can attest to the importance of the work that has been carried out in this area. »
It remains to be seen whether the mayor of Bordeaux will wear his sneakers on Friday, which he almost never takes off. “The mayor of Bordeaux knows how to adapt to situations, whatever they may be, and the clothing will be adapted to the circumstance,” smiles the elected official. For the sneakers you will see tomorrow. »