‘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

An SAS-style military unit tasked with eliminating terrorists will be on duty alongside 8,000 police officers when King Charles and Queen Camilla begin a state visit to Paris today.

France’s interior minister said Wednesday he was deploying an “unprecedented security operation” following the cancellation of the royal trip in March due to threats of violence from rioters.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a group that brought death and destruction to the streets of Paris in 2015, has since warned of an imminent attack on French streets.

Gérald Darmanin, the French Interior Ministry, told officials that “the terrorist threat remains high” and that “a high level of vigilance” remains essential.

This includes the deployment of the GIGN – the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group – as the King and Queen visit monuments including the Arc de Triomphe and travel down the Champs-Élysée in a chauffeur-driven car.

Tensions will also be extremely high on Wednesday evening when the couple will be guests of honor at a banquet at the Palace of Versailles, home of the kings and queens of France before the Revolution.

French President Emmanuel Macron will welcome King Charles III and Queen Camilla today

French Republican Guards parade at the Palace of Versailles, in Versailles, west of Paris

The GIGN first gained international prominence in 1994 with the successful assault on a hijacked Air France flight, when four terrorists were killed at Marseille airport.

His daring raids across the world, including Africa, earned him a deadly SAS-like reputation.

Mr Darmanin said elite police units such as RAID (which stands for Search, Assistance, Intervention, Deterrence) would also be on duty.

RAID was one of the first to respond when ISIS suicide bombers attacked Paris in November 2015, killing 130 people in a single night.

This was just after two gunmen linked to AQAP murdered 11 French citizens and injured 11 others linked to the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Other measures available to law enforcement for the royal visit include an anti-drone laser system.

The French parliament has also legalized facial recognition technology to spot known criminals, but there is no official confirmation it will be rolled out for the king and queen.

“The cancellation of the state visit in March for security reasons was a disaster, but no chances will be taken this week,” a Home Office source said.

“Protection will be provided by several units, including the GIGN. They will be available to deal with any active threat, as soon as it is detected.

“There will also be 8,000 police officers and gendarmes in the streets of Paris, for this unprecedented security operation.”

This photo taken on September 19, 2023 shows the French and British national flags in front of the Hôtel des Invalides in central Paris, as part of preparations for the upcoming visit of Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla to France .

A woman looks at the British and French flags on the Avenue des Champs-Elysées on the eve of the visit of the King and Queen of England on September 19, 2023.

Books, mugs and a portrait depicting 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 on Friday – when they are expected in the southwestern city of Bordeaux – there will be 12,000.

The March riots were provoked by President Emmanuel Macron who raised the retirement age from 62 to 64 without a parliamentary vote.

Since then, further civil unrest has erupted following the shooting of an ethnic minority teenager by a Paris police officer.

Threats that persuaded Mr Macron to cancel the British state visit earlier this year included the words “Death to the King” scrawled on the walls.

Describing Mr. Macron as a “republican monarch,” left-wing MP and former presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon said he was “delighted to see the meeting of kings at Versailles interrupted by popular censorship.”

But French and British security services are now confident that the three-day state visit, which includes a visit to Bordeaux in the southwest of the country on Friday, can take place safely.

This 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.