In front of the Quai d’Orsay, 35,000 soldiers lined up at attention, the “Union Jack” floating at the top of the Eiffel Tower, and a crowd of millions of French people gathered to greet the King of England… That’s not not the state visit of Charles III, from Wednesday September 20 to Friday September 22 as described with nostalgia by the BBC, but that of King George VI, in 1938. Eighty-five years later, “the atmosphere was rather different”, judges the British national channel. After a greeting session from the sunroof of the royal limousine on the Champs Elysée on Wednesday, accompanied by the French president, “halfway down the avenue, the two heads of state judiciously withdrew from their position to return to their seats, because in reality there was no one to greet,” the BBC can’t help but notice.
“Times have evolved,” the French specialist on the Windsor family, Stéphane Bern, procrastinates to the British media, adding that “these days, state visits cost two cents and no one takes the trouble to come.” Despite this observation, the late Queen Elizabeth II, “living link to the trials of the last century”, “attracted a significant number of sympathizers during her five state visits”, underlines the journalist from the English public service. “Are things different now that the Queen is no longer there? Are the French less interested in the Entente Cordiale than before?” he asks.
Repair diplomatic relations
If the people were not there, for other British media, the three-day visit of the monarch is above all a sign of strengthening Franco-British diplomatic relations, after the tense period of Brexit. “The king’s trip is seen as a ‘soft power’ follow-up to Rishi Sunak’s drive to repair Paris-London relations which were badly damaged at a Franco-British summit earlier this year”, particularly on deadly crossings from the Channel by thousands of immigrants each year, adds The Guardian.
And this time, “Emmanuel Macron rolls out the red carpet for the visit of King Charles”, also headlines the Financial Times. After canceling the visit planned last March – supposed to be the first visit abroad of his reign – because of the violent demonstrations against the pension reform which were taking place in the capital, “Macron hopes to forget this diplomatic setback” thanks to the last three days of an elaborate visit “which aims to highlight the historical, cultural and economic links between Great Britain and France”, notes the financial daily. The French government has this time demonstrated its desire “to do things well” through intense preparations: between 8,000 and 10,000 police officers have been mobilized, he points out.
King Charles III, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron, right, toast during a banquet at the Palace of Versailles, September 20, 2023
© / afp.com/Daniel LEAL
The Charles III brand
After an evening of feasting surrounded by celebrities of both nationalities at Versailles with Emmanuel Macron, Charles III became the first British monarch to address the Senate on Thursday. A speech conducted both in English and in perfect French, deemed “historic” by the daily The Independent, during which the sovereign promised that the United Kingdom “will always be one of France’s closest allies and best friends” before welcoming with emotion the tributes and support from France following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
“Thursday, in the Senate Hall, it was possible to observe the enormous value of the British monarchy, even in these iconoclastic and irreverent times,” adds the BBC. “There was among the assembled French parliamentarians a feeling of respect for the royal presence which, in diplomatic terms, was worth more than a thousand treaties of friendship,” concludes the largest British media outlet.
While it does not make sense to compare the aura of the new king to that of his beloved predecessor, Charles III is already leaving his mark through a subject that he defended long before being crowned: ecology. “Existential challenge”: King Charles calls for a climate agreement between France and the United Kingdom”, proudly headlines the Parisian correspondent of the Guardian.
“Together, our potential is unlimited”, “to protect the world from the greatest existential challenge of all”, encouraged the king on Thursday. “Let us renew our Entente Cordiale for future generations, so that it becomes, I propose, also an agreement for sustainability,” he continued, rewarded immediately afterwards by a long standing ovation from the French senators.