After the inconvenient postponement of the trip in March due to the riots that set fire to France, Emmanuel Macron needed a clear diplomatic success in the current visit of the King of England. That is why the Elysée has gone out of its way to offer the illustrious guest an impeccable program, with maximum republican pomp, careful details and the inescapable images of that postcard Paris that always sells so well around the world.
The French president, who is naturally very flexible with his schedules, arrived with British punctuality at the Arc de Triomphe to receive Charles III and his wife, Camilla. The ever-affectionate Macron touched the monarch’s arm and back several times, something that was banned under Elizabeth II, but her successor, in an effort to humanize the crown and gain popularity, has relaxed the rigid rules of house of Windsor.
Not only did Paris want to forget the failure of March, but it also wanted to visualize the new momentum in relations, which experienced low moments after Brexit and when Boris Johnson and Liz Truss were prime ministers.
The French flag and the Union Jack hung from the lanterns of the Champs Elysées. On two occasions, during the welcome ceremony, La Marsellaise and God save the King were played. Military honors occupied an important space. The two countries are proud to be old allies, first in the two world wars, then in NATO and bilaterally, thanks to the Lancaster House defense agreements (2010). In a bilingual brochure distributed to the press, the French Government recalled joint operations, such as the Suez crisis (1956), the overthrow of Gaddafi in Libya (2011) or the air deployment on NATO’s eastern flank after of the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year.
On the Champs-Élysées, waiting for the entourages to pass, there was an audience of all nationalities, many of whom were taken by surprise. The tourists were stuck on one of the two sidewalks, unable to cross the avenue or take the subway, as several stations were closed by the police.
Shannon, a young woman from Birmingham who was in Paris to celebrate her mother’s fiftieth birthday, was worried about being late to the party. “We actually came to Paris to drink wine, not to see our king,” he joked. The girl was still a minor when the Brexit referendum was held. “I remember writing an essay at school in which I was in favor of continuing in the EU – Shannon added -. My mother voted leave, but I think she regrets it now, ha, ha”.
Much more vehement was Chris, a retired British teacher, married to a French woman and now living near Paris. “I was very, very against Brexit – he stated -. I think it was a monumental mistake. Now we see the negative things it has caused. I think we should try to return to Europe, where we should never have left. So it would be great if King Charles and President Macron managed to restore relations that Boris Johnson destroyed.”
After the solemn sequence at the Arc de Triomphe, Macron; his wife, Brigitte, and the British guests headed to the Elysée, escorted by the Republican Guard on horseback. At the head of state headquarters, the president and the monarch were able to continue their conversation. The next stop was the residence of the British Embassy, ??where the two statesmen went on foot, which allowed them to spontaneously shake hands with people. In the diplomatic headquarters, Charles III, lover of the land, planted an oak gifted by France.
The dinner in the mirror gallery of the Palace of Versailles closed the first day of the visit. The menu, served on Sèvres porcelain, featured blue lobster and Bresse chicken. Among the guests, in addition to diplomats and politicians from both countries, there were intellectuals and show personalities, such as the actors Hugh Grant and Charlotte Gainsbourg, the writer Ken Follett, the rocker Mick Jagger and even Arsène Wenger, former Arsenal manager.
After a very complicated summer, which began in France with unprecedented street violence and then large-scale geopolitical fiascos in the Sahel, Macron recovered, in the autumn, with a display of grandeur. The visit of Charles III was the perfect excuse.
