Now France could move its state banquet for Charles over riot fears

‘Mr King, stay away’

THE King and Queen Consort were warned yesterday that their state visit to France next week will be targeted by anti-government protesters as the country continues to be hit by violent strikes.

Some militant trade unionists have even demanded that their high-profile trip be cancelled, while a lavish banquet due to take place on Monday at the Palace of Versailles – where Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette lived before being executed – is already set to be moved.

It comes after it was revealed earlier this week that Buckingham Palace officials are on high alert and speaking daily to their French counterparts about what elements of the visit may need to be changed.

The civil unrest has been sparked by President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 without a parliamentary vote.

Mr Macron and his wife are due to host Charles and Camilla on their first foreign visit since the death of

Queen Elizabeth. But JeanLuc Melenchon, a regular presidential candidate and leader of the Left- wing France Unbowed party, said: ‘It’s not the right time.

‘Mr King, listen, we have nothing against you here, but you’re the king of the English – that’s your business – you should stay away from Versailles.’

Plans made for the glittering dinner at Versailles include a concert in the Royal Chapel, with guests eating from Duplessis porcelain plates made during the reign of Louis XV.

But demonstrators, including opposition politicians, have accused Mr Macron of being completely out of touch with the lives of ordinary people.

‘It’s amazing,’ said French MP Sandrine Rousseau. ‘We are going to have Emmanuel Macron, the Republican monarch meeting Charles III while people in the street are demonstrating.

‘This is an incredible denial of democracy.’ Trade unionists and other protesters have already pledged to disrupt all events attended by the King, including a trip to the south-west city of Bordeaux on Tuesday.

Paris has seen some 10,000 tons of rubbish building up on the streets after binmen withdrew their labour. There was also widespread chaos at airports yesterday.

Meanwhile the King yesterday revealed that he was determined to visit Ukraine once more. In a show of support for the country which has just marked one year since the Russian invasion, he said: ‘I must go again before I get too old.’