King Charles III makes first state visit to protest-hit France

PARIS - Charles III arrives in France on Sunday for his first state visit as king, but the planned celebrations of historic cross-Channel relations face potential disruption from protests over unpopular pension reforms.

Officials on both sides are keeping a close eye on the waves of strikes and disruption across France that could cause last-minute changes to the carefully crafted three-day programme.

One concern is that protesters will use the occasion to publicise their fight against President Emmanuel Macron's bid to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64.

Charles and Queen Consort Camilla are due to tour Paris and Bordeaux before heading to Germany.

In Paris, Charles and Camilla are scheduled to join Macron for a ceremony of remembrance and wreath laying at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. 

Also pencilled in is an address at the Senate, while Camilla and French first lady Brigitte Macron will officially open the new Manet and Degas exhibition at the Musee d'Orsay.

Buckingham Palace has said the visits "will celebrate Britain's relationship with France and Germany, marking our shared histories, culture and values".

"It will also provide an opportunity to look forwards and demonstrate the many ways the UK is working in partnership with France and Germany", including tackling climate change and in Ukraine.

The king's visit to France follows that of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and a "difficult period" in bilateral relations, said London's former ambassador to Paris, Peter Ricketts.

"The king can play his part in that, quite rightly, without any political overtones," he told AFP.

"I feel very optimistic that we have turned a page in the UK-French relationship. 

"It got very bad in the years after Brexit, not helped by the fact that there was no trust in Paris, in Boris Johnson, who people didn't believe would keep his word."

Johnson's short-lived successor, Liz Truss, then failed to mend fences since the UK's European Union departure, saying the "jury's out" on whether Macron was a "friend or foe" of the UK.

But Ricketts added: "The arrival of... Rishi Sunak, who is much more compatible with President Macron, has really changed the picture."