On Thursday, King Charles III called for a new “understanding” with France regarding the climate change crisis.
King Charles, who spoke in French and English and is known for his firm environmental convictions, proposed that France and the UK commit to a “sustainability agreement” to respond “more effectively” to the global climate and biodiversity emergency.
Charles was inspired by the Entente Cordiale, a group of agreements concluded between France and Britain in 1904 to resolve differences between them.
These statements come at a time when British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced, yesterday, Wednesday, the postponement of several key measures of the United Kingdom’s climate policy.
This speech from the podium of the French Senate is the first delivered by a British monarch. In 2004, his mother, Elizabeth II, gave a speech in the Senate conference hall to the assembled representatives and senators but not in Parliament itself.
King Charles pledged to make every effort to “strengthen the inevitable relations” between Britain and France.
For his part, Gerard Larcher, President of the French Senate, stressed that the fate of the United Kingdom “remains closely linked to the European continent.”
French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed, at a dinner held Wednesday at the Palace of Versailles, that this three-day visit to France, the first since the coronation of Charles III, constitutes a “sign of friendship and trust,” a “tribute to our past,” and a “guarantee of the future.”
During the King’s speech to the Senate, Camilla and Brigitte Macron launched the Franco-British Literary Prize at the National Library. The French First Lady, wife of Charles III, gave a dress to the late Edith Piaf, in addition to manuscripts by the English writer William Shakespeare and the French writer Victor Hugo. They also visited the Chanel workshop today, Thursday.
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