A major security measure is planned from Monday September 18 to Sunday September 24 to secure the visits of King Charles III to Paris and Bordeaux and Pope Francis to Marseille, with September 23 also marked by several demonstrations requiring 30,000 police officers on the ground.

From Wednesday, which marks the arrival of King Charles III and Queen Camilla for a three-day state visit, the workforce will increase to bring the number of police and gendarmes mobilized to 8,000, Agence France learned on Saturday -Police source press.

There will be 10,000 on Thursday, then 12,000 on Friday and 30,000 on Saturday, where demonstrations against police violence will take place mainly in Paris but also in other cities in France. Paris will also host the Techno Parade on Saturday for its 25th anniversary while the Marseille Vélodrome will be the location of a mass celebrated by Pope Francis, who will also descend Avenue du Prado in a popemobile.

“An important security issue”

“It’s a multiplicity of large-scale events, important protocol events. King Charles is on a state visit, with a very large number of stops and meetings with local residents. This is a very important security issue,” said the police source, recalling the “context of terrorist threat which continues to weigh on our country” even if “our services have not detected any particular threats”.

These visits will take place in the middle of the Rugby World Cup, which requires security forces, in addition to Ligue 1 football matches, including a high-tension match, PSG-OM, on Sunday September 24 at the Parc des Princes.

“The most complicated day for us will be Saturday, we are mobilizing over the whole day between 130 and 135 units of mobile forces (UFM, gendarmerie squadrons and CRS), or a total of 30,000 police officers and gendarmes,” said clarified the police source, adding however that France was “not in a complicated social moment”.

Initially planned for March, the visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla to France had to be postponed due to the social movement against pension reform.