French tram drivers will refuse to take Britain’s King Charles on a tour through Bordeaux during his state visit, striking workers have warned amid violent protests rocking the country.
Charles III, we are going to welcome him with a good old general strike,” warned Olivier Besancenot of the far-left New Anticapitalist Party in an interview with France Info.
Charles and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, are expected to arrive in Paris on Sunday for the start of their first official state visit to France, which takes place against a backdrop of angry anti-Macron protests.
Authorities have reportedly warned the king to avoid large crowds. On Tuesday, they will travel to Bordeaux by train, where they will inaugurate the new local British consulate, meet members of the British community and tour an organic vineyard.
The original Bordeaux itinerary also included a tram ride into the city centre, before a quick stroll through town and a visit to a canelé pastry shop.
But one local union leader warned that demonstrators are likely to descend on the tracks and block the tram as part of their continued protests against the government’s contentious pension reforms which were passed on Monday night when the opposition failed to shore up enough votes in no-confidence motions.
“It is almost certain that the king will not be able to take the tram,” warned Pascal Mesgueni, a representative of the CFTC union in an interview with Sud Ouest. “No driver will want to transport the king.”
Since President Emmanuel Macron forced through his pension reform bill without a vote on Thursday, demonstrators have taken to the streets of Bordeaux every day. Under the bill, the age of retirement will rise from 62 to 64.
In a separate interview with daily newspaper, 20 Minutes, another union rep said protesters planned to take advantage of the royal visit to hold “big demonstrations and big blockages” on the day of the couple’s arrival.
According to French news channel BFM TV, French authorities have advised the king to avoid the possibility of large crowds.
During their stay in Paris, the British royals will lay a wreath at the Arc de Triomphe alongside Mr Macron and his wife Brigitte, address members of the National Assembly, and attend the opening of an exhibit at the Musée d’Orsay.
The French president will also host a state dinner in their honour at the Château de Versailles. But their welcome may be less than royal, with overflowing rubbish bins and rubbish bags lining otherwise picturesque streets after the city’s sanitation workers voted on Tuesday to extend their strike until March 27.
Telegraph Media Group Limited [2023]