Last day. The King of England Charles III is expected Friday September 22 in Bordeaux for the end of his visit to France. In New Aquitaine, the sovereign will talk about ecology with the city’s environmentalist mayor, Pierre Hurmic before visiting an experimental forest and an organic vineyard. Thursday, in front of parliamentarians in the Senate, he proposed a new Franco-British “Agreement” on climate and biodiversity. Follow our live stream.
“Historical links”. New Aquitaine remains the land of choice for a quarter of Britons residing in France, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee). “There are historical links between our city and Great Britain,” recalled Pierre Hurmic, the environmentalist mayor of Bordeaux, on Thursday.
A visit dedicated to ecology. But more than the links between the Bordeaux city and the United Kingdom, Pierre Hurmic sees “a recognition of the way in which the city of Bordeaux has responded, for several years, to the ecological and climatic issues which are of particular interest to King Charles III”, assured Pierre Hurmic. During his visit, Charles III will discover an experimental forest in Floirac. Before leaving for the United Kingdom, the royal couple will be reunited for a final stop at Château Smith Haut Lafitte, an 87-hectare wine estate converted to biodynamics.
An “Agreement for Sustainability”. Facing parliamentarians in the Senate on Thursday, King Charles III proposed that France and the United Kingdom commit to a “Sustainability Agreement” in order to respond “more efficiently” has “the global emergency in terms of climate and biodiversity”.
Scientists from the University of Bordeaux and INRAE – National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment – have been studying the response of forests to environmental changes since 2020. They are particularly interested in their adaptation to drought in a region still marked by the gigantic fires of the summer of 2022.
Before leaving by plane for the United Kingdom, the royal couple will be reunited for a final stop at Château Smith Haut Lafitte, an 87-hectare wine estate converted to biodynamics.
Founded in the 14th century and bearing the name of a former Scottish owner, George Smith, its success contrasts with the slump into which the largest AOC vineyard in France is plunged – 110,000 hectares cultivated – which is suffering from a serious crisis of overproduction.
If local authorities are proud that the department has become the most organic in France in terms of viticulture, with almost a quarter of its surfaces converted, associations still criticize the massive use of pesticides, of which the department is the first national buyer, according to Générations futures.