Breaking – King Charles’s France visit postponed after pension protests
Charles III’s first state visit has been postponed, the Elysée Palace has said, as France faces continued protests against the government’s pension reforms.
The trip to Paris and Bordeaux was due to begin on Sunday but both cities saw some of the worst violence on Thursday since the protests began in January.
The entrance to the town hall in Bordeaux was set alight.
Officials had earlier insisted there were no known threats to the trip.
Pension reforms in France leads to protests
More than a million people took to the streets across the country, with 119,000 in Paris alone.
Police used tear gas on protesters in the capital, and 80 people were arrested across the country.
The demonstrations were sparked by legislation raising the retirement age by two years to 64, and unions have called for further protests next Tuesday.
Train travel, oil refineries, and work at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport were disrupted due to the unrest.