Sun King’s party with Charles stirs French feelings

The trip was actually supposed to take place in March. Until then, a really big banquet with hundreds of guests was being planned in the heart of the Palace of Versailles, the Hall of Mirrors – one of the most expensive and famous rooms in the world.

But unrest in large parts of France, in protest against President Macron’s reform of the pension system, put an end to it last spring. First the official banquet was cancelled, then the entire visit of the British King was cancelled.

Cash is raised

Now is the time for a new attempt, after the protests in the French streets have calmed down. But when photos of the Palace of Versailles’ opulent interiors were recirculated around France and the world, criticism of Macron revived as well. On social media, the president is being compared to the “Sun King” Louis XIV, with the implication that senior leaders have no idea how difficult it is for ordinary people.

This comparison is reinforced by the fact that today’s heads of state will banquet in the same halls where seventeenth-century kings did.

– This image, in this context, is clearly damaging to Emmanuel Macron, although there are diplomatic reasons behind it that also play a role, says Benjamin Morell, lecturer in public law at the University of Paris Panthéon Assas. To the French news agency.

“The history is not good, and the picture is not good,” he adds, pointing out that these September days are linked to very cruel and bloody events during the French Revolution of 1792.

Something for everyone

On the other hand, Macron is under pressure due to diplomatic considerations, such as the fact that King Charles is expected to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors. His mother, Elizabeth II, was received at Versailles several times, including by President Georges Pompidou in 1972.

For the palace outside Paris, Charles’ visit will be an interruption, as it means the area will be briefly closed to regular visitors. But director Catherine Bigard points out that this shows that the castle grounds have something for everyone.

“French children come here with schools, the British King visits, but also tourists from Asia who may know little about the history behind it,” she says. To the Associated Press news agency.