They will not miss anything of King Charles III’s speech in the Senate. Among the 300 parliamentarians present this Thursday, some deputies are impatiently awaiting this moment. Others, on the contrary, denounce a “monarchical moment” under the gold of the Republic.
After a descent of the Avenue des Champs-Elysées and a dinner at the Palace of Versailles alongside Queen Camilla, King Charles will continue his first official visit to France since his coronation in the Senate. Thursday September 21, he will speak to a delegation of 300 senators and deputies in the morning. A speech scheduled in the Senate, from 10:30 a.m., which some parliamentarians did not want to miss for anything.
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It is with great curiosity that the socialist Jérome Guedj decided to register to attend this moment which he considers historic: “It’s not every day and you can be a fervent republican in France, and also hear his voice of moral magisterium, we see all the figure of unity that the king represents among our British friends”, he explains. “Whatever we say, we have a curiosity, sometimes even a fascination, for the British monarchy”, adds the chosen one.
A feeling shared by Jean-Philippe Tanguy. The National Rally MP is part of the France-United Kingdom friendship group, he believes that this symbolizes the warming of bilateral relations. “It’s a symbol, Queen Elizabeth II was a great friend of France, who really liked coming to Francehe assures. She has always been faithful to the cordial understanding and historical relations between our two countries, and King Charles is in this lineage, we are happy to welcome him.”
Other deputies denounce a “monarchical moment”
But as everything is political in the Assembly, we also find deputies fundamentally opposed to this visit by a king under the gold of the Republic. “And here Louis VI Macron brings back Charles III to us on the day of the battle of Valmy, where we win and proclaim the First Republic”annoys for example the Insoumis Antoine Léaument. “September 20 and 21, it is a republican moment and Emmanuel Macron has chosen to make it a monarchical moment. We do not agree with that.” No speech from the king for him, but “Republic holidays”, during which lists of grievances will be drawn up.
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However, each of the left-wing groups will send a few representatives to listen to the king, in the name of relations between the two countries. Among environmentalists, Cyrielle Chatelain even goes so far as to salute the British political system: “I am not for monarchs, but at least it is accepted among them. At home, we have a presidential monarch who still has much more weight than the King of England, that should raise questions for us.”
A president who has delusions of grandeur, according to environmentalists. According to them, he could have avoided the sumptuous dinner at the Palace of Versailles for this visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla.