King Charles’ banquet at Versailles is postponed due to violent threats

A royal banquet planned for King Charles at the Palace of Versailles has to be postponed due to ongoing threats of violence in Paris.

The banquet was scheduled for Monday.

Protests swept the French capital this week in direct response to President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to pass the controversial bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 without a vote in Parliament.

As political unrest continues to sweep through the city, preventive measures are being taken ahead of the King’s upcoming state visit to France – his first as monarch.

Macron’s aide told news broadcaster BFM TV that the sumptuous dinner could no longer take place at the planned venue.

“The dinner planned for Monday between Charles III. and Emmanuel Macron may not take place at Versailles as originally planned,” the presidential aide told the outlet.

Organizers “plan to hold it elsewhere” as the Elysée Palace in central Paris is currently being eyed as a replacement.

The banquet was set to be a “highlight” for Britain’s new sovereign, who is due to be officially crowned on May 6th.

Charles is traveling to Paris with his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort and the couple were set to dine at Versailles on Monday night alongside 200 guests invited exclusively by Macron.

Paris police said on Tuesday hundreds of people were arrested in the capital, mainly for setting fire to rubbish in the street.

Mostly small, dispersed protests took place in cities across France, some escalating into violence late Monday and continuing throughout the week.

In the capital, small groups took to the streets to set fire to piles of rubbish created by a refuse collectors’ strike.

Paris Police Prefect Laurent Nunez said the violence was caused by groups of up to 300 people moving quickly through the city.

Nunez told BFM TV he ordered an internal investigation after an officer was filmed hitting a man who was walking backwards, knocking him to the ground.

The law that sparked the protests has yet to be reviewed by the Constitutional Council before it can be formally enacted.