King Charles III of the United Kingdom starts a three-day state visit to France meant to highlight with great pomp both nations’ friendship
PARIS — PARIS (AP) — King Charles III of the United Kingdom starts a three-day state visit to France on Wednesday meant to highlight with great pomp both nations' friendship, after the trip was postponed in March amid widespread demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension changes.
Charles and Queen Camilla will be greeted by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne at Paris-Orly airport, before heading to the city center for a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in the presence of Macron and his wife, Brigitte.
The visit shows “the deep historical ties that unite our two countries. It is also an opportunity to showcase France’s cultural, artistic and gastronomic excellence,” the French presidency said.
At the Arc de Triomphe, both nations’ hymns will be played before a review of French troops and a wreath laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to “mark the shared sacrifices of the past and an enduring legacy of cooperation,” according to Buckingham Palace.
The jet fighters of the Patrouille de France and Britain's Red Arrows, the acrobatic teams of the countries' air forces, will fly above the monument.
The presidential and royal couples will then head by car to the presidential palace, parading on the Champs-Elysees avenue.
Macron and Charles will hold a bilateral meeting, because the visit also “symbolizes the relationship of friendship and trust” between them since they both ”have in the past worked closely together to protect biodiversity and combat global warming," the French presidency stressed.
They will also have talks on Russia's war in Ukraine and the migration
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