What a shame for Emmanuel Macron: King Charles' visit to France has been cancelled. Or: "postponed", as the official terminology reads. "King Emmanuel I", as France's president is now mockingly called on social media, actually wanted to receive the British monarch Charles and his wife Camilla on Sunday and dine at the Palace of Versailles. In view of the annoying petty war over the pension reform, Macron hoped above all that it could be assumed that he would reappear as an internationally dazzling head of state; witty and eloquent - his favorite role. And now this: Not France, but Germany - of all places - will be the first country that Charles visits in his new role as king. A "blow", a "slap in the face", a "disaster" for France's reputation, judge French journalists after the cancellation at short notice.
What happened? Well, Emmanuel Macron had made his royal visit plans without the French. They are stubborn. On the battlements, en colère. In several large cities, the garbage cans are burning unabated out of anger at Emmanuel Macron. In the Bordeaux town hall – one of the planned stops for the royal state guest – the front door was on fire. Worse still, employees have announced that they will refuse their services. King Charles might have gone without a red carpet because nobody wanted to roll it out.
Against the background of this – depending on your point of view – revolutionary or chaotic mood, the king now prefers to stay at home. Charles and Camilla between burning barricades, booed by angry protesters: Apparently these are not the images that the British royal family would like to paint of their monarch's first visit abroad. And even in the Élysée Palace, one should have come to the conclusion that it is not the ideal time to show the President of the Republic as many in the population already see him: as the Sun King in a tailored suit who prefers to dine under sparkling chandeliers , than to care for the resentment he arouses in the country. At least the French President's entourage hastened to make it clear: the visit had been postponed at Emmanuel Macron's request because there had been new strike announcements.
Whether the visit was canceled for reasons of etiquette or security risks is irrelevant: it's a clear victory for the unions, for the strikers and for the demonstrators. Trade union leader Laurent Berger had expressly said that there would be no mobilization against King Charles' visit because, after all, it was about pension reform. But last Thursday, the protests took on proportions that even demo-experienced Parisians describe as "hardcore." The images of the night riots go around the world and give the impression that the entire country is on fire. The fact that even such a high-ranking and long-planned event as the reception of Charles and Camilla is now being canceled exacerbates the crisis surrounding Emmanuel Macron.
For the French president, this means once again that his strategy isn't working. Even his speech to the population, which was staged by the Elysée Palace in the form of an interview but with the most humble questions, had done little to bring about reconciliation. It should now be impossible for Macron to continue treating the demonstrations like a naughty dwarf uprising. Both the French and the British side will probably try to de-dramatize the cancellation of the state visit. From the point of view of Emmanuel Macron's critics, however, the whole thing is a steep template: the president is alone. Not even King Charles visits him.
