‘Unprecedented security operation’ for King Charles and Queen Camilla’s state visit begins as French officials admit ‘terror threat is high’ – and Al-Qaeda called for attack on French soil
- The first Royal trip planned in March was cancelled due to widespread rioting
- Now France’s special forces and hordes of police officers are on duty for Charles
An SAS-style military unit focused on killing terrorists will be on duty along with 8000 police officers when King Charles and Queen Camilla start a State Visit to Paris today.
France’s Interior Minister said he was unrolling an ‘unprecedented security operation’ on Wednesday following the cancellation of the Royal trip in March because of the threat of violence by rioters.
There has since been a warning from Al-Qaeda In the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) – a group that brought death and destruction to the streets of Paris as recently as 2015 – of an imminent attack on French streets.
Gérald Darmanin, France’s Interior Ministry, told officials that ‘the terrorist threat remains high’ and that ‘a high level of vigilance’ remains essential.
This includes deploying the GIGN – the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group – as the King and Queen visit monuments including the Arc de Triomphe, and process down the Champs-Élysée in a chauffeur-driven car.
Tension will also be extremely high on Wednesday evening when the couple are guests of honour at a banquet at the Palace of Versailles, home of the pre-Revolutionary kings and queens of France.
An SAS-style military unit focused on killing terrorists will be on duty along with 8000 police officers when King Charles and Queen Camilla (pictured) start a State Visit to Paris today
French President Emmanuel Macron will welcome King Charles III and Queen Camilla today
French Republican guards march at the Chateau de Versailles, in Versailles, west of Paris
The GIGN first made its name internationally in 1994 with the successful storming of a hijacked Air France flight, when four terrorists were killed at Marseille airport.
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Its daring raids across the world, including in Africa, have earned it an SAS-style lethal reputation.
Mr Darmanin said elite police units such as the RAID (which stands for Research, Assistance, Intervention, Deterrence) would also be on duty.
The RAID was one of the first to react when ISIS suicide bombers attacked Paris in November 2015, killing 130 people on a single night.
This was just after two gunmen linked to AQAP murdered 11 French citizens and wounded 11 others linked to the satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo.
Other measures available to the forces of law and order for the Royal visit include a laser anti-drone system.
France’s parliament has also legalized facial recognition technology to spot known criminals, but there is no official confirmation that it will be rolled out for the King and Queen.
‘The cancellation of the State Visit in March because of safety concerns was a disaster, but there will be no chances taken this week,’ said an Interior Ministry source.
‘Protection will be provided by multiple units, including the GIGN. They will be on hand to deal with any active threat, the moment it is detected.
‘There will also be 8000 police and gendarmes out on the streets of Paris, for this unprecedented security operation.’
This picture taken on September 19, 2023, shows French and British national flags in front of the Hotel des Invalides in central Paris, as part of preparations for the upcoming visit of Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla in France
A woman looks at British and French flags on the ‘Avenue des Champs-Elysee’ on the eve of the visit of the King and Queen of England on September 19, 2023
Books, mugs and a portrait representing King Charles III are displayed in a shop window on the eve of the visit of the King and Queen of England on September 19, 2023 in Paris, France
There will be 10,000 officers on duty on Thursday, when the Royals visit Notre Dame Cathedral, and by Friday – when they are due in the South West city of Bordeaux – there will be 12,000.
The rioting in March was caused by President Emmanuel Macron raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 without a parliamentary vote.
Since then, there has been further civil unrest caused by the shooting of an ethnic minority teenager by a Paris policeman.
Threats that persuaded Mr Macron to cancel the British state visit earlier this year included the words ‘Death to the King’ scrawled on walls.
Referring to Mr Macron as a ‘republican monarch’, Left-Wing firebrand MP and former presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon said he was ‘delighted to see the meeting of kings at Versailles broken up by popular censorship’.
But the French and British security services are now convinced that the three-day State Visit, which includes a visit to the southwestern city of Bordeaux on Friday, can go ahead safely.
It will be the King’s 35th official visit to France, and the Queen’s ninth.
The couple last visited France in 2019, to attend a service at Bayeux Cathedral to mark the 75th anniversary of the Normandy Landings.
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