The FT Weekend leads on a fiery image of the “turmoil in France” as Bordeaux’s town hall was set on fire in a protest over pensions. The unrest has continued as Emmanuel Macron has doubled down on the government’s plan to raise the pension age from 62 to 64.
The Daily Express leads on the royal fallout of France’s pension protests, reporting that King Charles’s state visit to France was “axed” after a day of pension protests were called in France during the planned visit. The newspaper reports that security threats to the King and Camilla, the Queen Consort, triggered Mr Macron pulling the plug on the trip, which was due to begin on Sunday and would have seen the King travel to Paris and Bordeaux.
The Daily Mail takes a different stance on Mr Macron cancelling the state visit, writing that the French president “surrenders to the mob”, culminating in “a day of humiliation” after he was criticised for removing a luxury watch during an interview about the hotly contested pension changes. The newspaper also turns its attention to Gwyneth Paltrow, who has appeared in court in the US, denying that she is responsible for a ski crash hit-and-run at an upmarket resort in Utah.
The i leads on the King’s alleged frustrations over the cancellation of the state visit to France, reporting that the monarch is “eager to heal Brexit wounds” and hoped the visit would trigger him taking a more active role in UK diplomacy. Elsewhere, newspaper reports that DIY plywood boats are being used by smugglers to transport desperate migrants across the Channel.
The Daily Telegraph also meditates on the implications of Mr Macron cancelling the King’s trip to France, reporting that the UK’s “reset with the EU” is “in disarray” over the postponement. The newspaper reports that the trip formed part of the government’s wider strategy to foster ties with Europe, in line with the government’s formal adoption of the Windsor Framework, aimed at smoothing post-Brexit trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
The Daily Mirror turns its attention to the NHS dental crisis, reporting that a man living with severe toothache in Cambridgeshire travelled to war-torn Ukraine to seek out dental treatment when he couldn’t get an appointment in his area. It also leads on an image of a Parisian blaze captured at protests in the capital, writing that a “French revolution” stopped the King’s state visit.
But its French baguettes that are in the firing line on the front page of the Daily Star. The newspaper has dubbed the garlic batons as responsible for “the great stink”, reporting that half-baked baguettes are responsible for an uptick in “global guffing”, more commonly known as excessive wind.
