The state visit of the British sovereign is postponed, said Emmanuel Macron, in Brussels, explaining that we could not maintain this trip and risk having “incidents at the key”.
Is the postponement of Charles III’s visit to France a first victory for opponents of pension reform? From Brussels, where he is taking part in a European Council, on Friday March 24, Emmanuel Macron answers no and defends a decision to “common sense”. “What would have been detestable, for the British people as well as for ourselves, indicates the President of the Republic, on the contrary, we were trying to carry on as if nothing had happened, with incidents as a result.” For his first state visit, the King of England was to arrive in France on Sunday and stay in Paris and then in Bordeaux until March 29 before then going to Germany.
>>Charles III: the visit of the British sovereign to France postponed
Until now, Emmanuel Macron had never allowed his own agenda to be upset by the social agenda. In Brussels, he maintains what he said during the interview on Wednesday and which caused so much tension. He is determined to keep moving forward. “The country cannot be at a standstill. We have lots of challengesassures Emmanuel Macron. First to deal with emergencies. The drought next summer and the water shortages we are experiencing are one of them. Continuing to reform the labor market and allowing us to continue to create jobs in our country is another,” says the Head of State. “What we have to do in terms of improving our security is also another. The military programming law will arrive. So we have an agenda. It will continue to move forward, the country, the merit and needs it .”
A change of tone towards the unions
And at the same time, Emmanuel Macron takes advantage of this press conference to rectify the situation after having pointed the unions on Wednesday. A slight change in tone. He had bristled the unions accusing them of having made no proposal, no compromise on pension reform. He had also refused to receive the unions who had sent him a letter when the blocked vote had been triggered in the Senate. The latter denounced “an arm of honor”. Today, Emmanuel Macron said:“My door is open”. “I myself, on Wednesday, indicated our availability to move forward on subjects such as professional wear and tear, career endings, retraining, career development, working conditions and remuneration in certain branches. And so I am at the disposal of the intersyndicale if it wishes to come and meet me to make progress on all these subjects”. Even if he does not respond to Laurent Berger, the boss of the CFDT, who is asking for a break in the reform, we will note a small opening anyway.
This does not prevent the opposition from seeing a setback, even an admission of weakness in this postponement of the visit of Charles III. “Emmanuel Macron has found the reverse gear”, rejoices Fabien Roussel, the national secretary of the Communist Party. For Manuel Bompard, LFI deputy in Marseille and coordinator of La France insoumise, it is indeed a victory for social mobilization. “It is the demonstration that at least Charles III hears the messages that Emmanuel Macron, obviously, has trouble hearing, declares the deputy Insoumis. I say it’s a first win.”
“Now, Emmanuel Macron will perhaps understand that it is better to step back so that things can get back to normal and that it is better to give up his pension reform, quite simply.”
Manuel Bompard, coordinator of La France insoumiseat franceinfo
The Élysée assures that the decision was taken by two, but Downing Street sold the wick: it was indeed Emmanuel Macron who asked the king for the postponement. For Roger Karoutchi, this is a terrible admission of powerlessness. He was to welcome Charles III to the Arc de Triomphe on Monday. “That we are not in a position, in a condition to ensure the security and serenity of a 48-hour trip by the King of England to France, is quite symbolic of the deterioration of the situation”, deplores Senator LR from Hauts-de-Seine. “No, we cannot be satisfied with this cancellation. Frankly, canceling to avoid the worst is at the same time canceling so as not to show one’s extreme weakness.”
None of the subjects that Emmanuel Macron wanted to discuss with Charles III would have found an audience, argues the Elysée. Franco-British relationship, influence of France. The visit is postponed to the beginning of the summer, after the coronation of King Charles III, Emmanuel Macron told Brussels.