State visits are all about the show. And this was a coup de theatre from France.
Nothing subtle about a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, or a banquet at Versailles.
And the diplomatic highpoint – speaking in the Senate.
Image: The King speaks to people gathered outside the Hotel de Ville in Bordeaux
Speaking to those involved, the King‘s address – mostly delivered in French – hit the spot.
The set-piece moments matter, they are a diplomatic display of friendship.
By coming to France, Britain sends a signal that the country remains a political priority.
Image: The King and Queen travel by electric tram in Bordeaux
And even though the French have long-ditched their monarchy, the British royal family remains a cross-channel curiosity.
There was a lot of affection for the late Queen Elizabeth II – who visited many times, including on private holidays, and had historic connections with so many presidents – the reason Emmanuel Macron said: “The Queen loved France and we loved her.”
She is still fondly remembered today.
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Image: The Queen plays table tennis as the King and Brigitte Macron look on during visit to Saint-Denis Pic: AP
The visit of course should have happened six months ago. But instead it was cancelled, leaving Germany to host the King’s first overseas state visit.
Even palace officials admitted the German trip was a hard act to follow.
Image: The King in the French Senate
The French ramped up security to ensure nothing went wrong.
But this meant the crowds felt held back in Paris. In Bordeaux though, there was much more mingling.
Nowhere in France has more British expats, and plenty came out.
At the town hall – set on fire during the rioting over pension reforms which forced the French to cancel the King’s original visit – there was no sign of disquiet.
The Bordeaux trip had a few themes, from commerce to defence links.
Engagements were set up to show the cooperation between Britian and France.
But it was at the end of the day when the King looked most relaxed, at a forest project looking at ways to combat the threat of climate change.
“He’s in his happy place here,” a palace official said.
If there was one theme beyond renewing Anglo-French relations, it was the climate.
The King can’t campaign anymore, but he’s not staying quiet.
In his speeches and his engagements, there are heavy environmental elements.
There were of course the comedic moments too; the Queen and Mrs Macron playing ping pong, the Fijian rugby team serenading the King.
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Seven people have been killed and dozens are injured after two bridges collapsed in Russia overnight.
A train derailed after a bridge collapsed on to it in the Bryansk region, killing the driver and six others.
Some 69 people were injured in the crash, with the train travelling from Moscow to Klimov at the time.
Earlier, local authorities blamed “illegal interference” for the incident.
Later, a bridge collapsed in Russia’s Kursk region while a freight train was passing over it.
Local officials said one of the train’s drivers was injured in the crash.
Image: The scene of the train crash in Kursk region. Pic: RIA/Telegram
Russia’s Baza Telegram channel, which often publishes information from sources in the security services and law enforcement, reported, without providing evidence, that the bridge in Bryansk was blown up, according to initial information.
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There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Since the start of the war that Russia launched more than three years ago, there have been continued cross-border shelling, drone strikes, and covert raids by Ukrainian forces into the Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions that border Ukraine.
Image: Pic: Moscow Transport Prosecutor’s Office
Bryansk regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said: “Everything is being done to provide all necessary assistance to the victims.”
Emergency workers are at the scene of the train derailment, attempting to pull survivors from the wreckage.
Russia’s federal road transportation agency said the destroyed bridge passed above the railway tracks where the train was travelling.
Images from the scene show passenger cars ripped apart and lying amid fallen concrete from the collapsed bridge.
Other footage on social media appeared to be taken from inside vehicles which narrowly avoided driving onto the bridge before it collapsed.
At least 21 people have been killed in Gaza as they went to receive aid from an Israeli-backed foundation, according to a nearby hospital run by the Red Cross.
The hospital, which received the bodies, said another 175 people had been wounded in the incident in Rafah on Sunday morning.
The Associated Press also reports seeing dozens of people being treated at the hospital.
Witnesses have said those killed and injured were struck by gunfire which broke out at a roundabout near the distribution site.
The area is controlled by Israeli forces.
Ibrahim Abu Saoud, an eyewitness, said Israeli forces opened fire at people moving toward the aid distribution centre.
“There were many martyrs, including women,” the 40-year-old man said. “We were about 300 meters (yards) away from the military.”
Abu Saoud said he saw many people with gunshot wounds, including a young man who he said had died at the scene. “We weren’t able to help him,” he said.
The Gazans had been trying to receive aid from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – an American organisation backed by both the US and Israeli governments.
It operates as part of a controversial aid system which Israel and the US claims is aimed at preventing Hamas from siphoning off assistance.
Israel has not provided any evidence of systematic diversion, and the UN denies it has occurred.
Earlier, Hamas-linked media had also reported more than 20 deaths in Rafah, saying they were as a result of an Israeli strike on an aid distribution point. Israel is yet to comment.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s distribution of aid has been marred by chaos, and multiple witnesses have said Israeli troops fired on crowds near the delivery sites.
UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to work with the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles because it allows Israel to control who receives aid and forces people to relocate to distribution sites, risking yet more mass displacement in the territory.
Before Sunday, at least six people had been killed and more than 50 wounded, according to local health officials.
The foundation says the private security contractors guarding its sites did not fire on the crowds, while the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots.
The foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment following the hospital’s claims.
In an earlier statement, it said it distributed 16 truckloads of aid early on Sunday “without incident”. It dismissed what it referred to as “false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos”.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Israel has confirmed its forces have killed Hamas’s Gaza chief, Mohammad Sinwar, as US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff called the group’s counter-offer on a ceasefire “totally unacceptable”.
Mohammad Sinwar became the leader of the militant group in the Gaza Strip after his older brother Yahya Sinwar was killed last October.
In a statement, the Israeli military said it had killed Sinwar on 13 May, and was the target of a strike on a hospital in southern Gaza.
Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied his death, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told parliament on Wednesday that he had been “eliminated”.
Image: A handout image of Mohammed Sinwar from December 2023. Pic: Israeli Army / Reuters
Who was ‘The Shadow’ Mohammed Sinwar?
Mohammed Sinwar was the younger brother of Yahyah Sinwar, the former leader of Hamas and mastermind behind the 7 October attacks, who was killed by IDF forces in Rafah last October.
In January of this year, Mohammed was confirmed as the new leader of Hamas in Gaza, following the death of his brother.
Among Palestinians, he never had the reputation of Yahya, but he was widely believed to have played a significant role in the kidnap and holding of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006 and demanded the release of Yahya Sinwar from Israeli prison as part of a swap deal.
Born in Khan Younis, Mohammed Sinwar rose through the ranks of Hamas to become a senior commander in Al Qassam Brigades, the group’s military wing.
He was known as ‘The Shadow’, in part because of the junior role he played to his older brother and also because few images of him exist.
He survived multiple assassination attempts and was previously incorrectly declared dead during Israel’s war in Gaza.
Sinwar had a reputation for being stubborn, and Israeli sources in the ceasefire negotiations blamed him for slowing the process and changing his demands at the last minute.
The IDF has confirmed he was with the commander of the Rafah brigade, Mohammed Shabanah, in tunnels underneath the European Hospital in Gaza when the IDF struck in mid-May. Shabanah’s death is significant because he was a likely successor to Sinwar.
It would leave Azadi al-Hadad, the Gaza City Brigade Commander, as the only living Hamas commander from 7 October.
He would likely be in line as the next Hamas chief in Gaza.
Hamas seeks changes in US ceasefire proposal
It comes as Hamas said it was seeking amendments to a US-proposed ceasefire deal, offering 10 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of 18 in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
On Thursday, the White House said Israel agreed to a 60-day ceasefire proposal, which would see the release of nine living hostages and half of the known hostages who have died over the course of a week.
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Israel and Hamas would then continue talks to bring the remaining hostages home, but Israel would retain the right to resume military action in Gaza if talks were to break down.
In a statement about the proposal on Saturday, Hamas said its response “aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to our people in the Strip”.
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Israeli ambassador claims ‘no starvation in Gaza’
Hamas offer ‘totally unacceptable’ – Witkoff
Donald Trump’s special Middle East envoy, Mr Witkoff, said on social media that Hamas’s response is “totally unacceptable and only takes us backwards”.
“Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week,” he added.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim told Reuters that the group has not rejected the proposal but added Mr Witkoff’s response was “unfair” and showed “complete bias” towards Israel.
Israel has not yet responded to Hamas’ counter-offer, but has previously rejected the conditions and demanded the complete disarmament and dismantling of the group.
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Meanwhile, Gaza aid groups have said dozens of World Food Programme (WFP) trucks carrying flour to Gaza bakeries had been hijacked by armed groups and subsequently looted by people.
The WFP added: “After nearly 80 days of a total blockade, communities are starving and they are no longer willing to watch food pass them by.”
Amjad Al-Shawa, head of an umbrella group representing Palestinian aid groups, said hundreds more trucks were needed and accused Israel of a “systematic policy of starvation”.
Israel denies operating a policy of starvation and says it is facilitating aid deliveries via the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Instead, it accuses Hamas of stealing supplies.