King Charles’ visit ‘could have had echoes of 1789’

King Charles’s state visit to France and a banquet at the Palace of Versailles could have had “echoes” of the French Revolution, according to a former British ambassador to France.

Peter Ricketts, who was Britain’s envoy in France from 2012 to 2016, said the dinner would have been poorly timed, coming during widespread protests against the French president, Emmanuel Macron’s, plans to change the pension system and raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.

The visit was postponed last Friday as the revolt continued. Last Thursday 441 police officers were injured in violent protests, and 903 fires had to be put out by French firefighters. A total of 457 people were arrested. A visit may instead take place at the start of the summer.

The king and queen consort had been due to visit Bordeaux, where demonstrators set fire to the town hall’s 18th-century front door last week. There was concern protesters would target the Palace of Versailles.