Pomp, pageantry and politesse greet French President Macron in display of British royals' soft power

LONDON (AP) — The French Tricolor and Britain’s Union flag hang from the standards near Windsor Castle. The carriages are primed, the tiaras polished.

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, arrived in Britain on Tuesday at the start of a state visit as the two countries highlight their long friendship with conspicuous displays of military pomp, golden carriages and royal toasts.

The backdrop for day one is Windsor Castle, a royal fortress for over 900 years that remains a working palace today.

Prince William and the Princess of Wales greeted the Macrons at RAF Northolt outside London. King Charles III later formally welcomed the couple later at Windsor Castle, where they rode in a horse-drawn carriage and reviewed a military guard of honor. The first day ended with a state banquet at the castle.

Charles and Queen Camilla traveled to France in September 2023 in a visit that highlighted the historic ties between Britain and its closest European neighbor.

That royal trip came after years of sometimes prickly relations strained by Britain’s exit from the European Union and disagreements over the growing number of migrants crossing the English Channel on small boats.

President Macron’s arrival in Britain marks the first state visit by a French head of state since President Nicolas Sarkozy traveled to London in 2008.

State visits are ceremonial meetings between heads of state that are used to honor friendly nations and sometimes smooth relations between rivals. While the king formally issues the invitation for a state visit, he does so on the advice of the elected government.

State visits to Britain are particularly prized by heads of state because they come with a full complement of royal pomp and circumstance, including military reviews, carriage rides and a glittering state banquet hosted by the monarch.

The events normally take place in and around Buckingham Palace in central London. But the Macrons will stay at Windsor Castle, to the west of the capital. Buckingham Palace is undergoing extensive remodeling.

This is just the fifth state visit since King Charles ascended the throne in September 2022.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had the honor of receiving the first invitation for a state visit during the new king’s reign and spent three days in Britain in November 2022. The leaders of Qatar, Japan and South Korea have also received the full royal treatment.

More controversially, Charles has invited U.S. President Donald Trump to make an unprecedented second state visit to Britain, which is expected to take place in the autumn.

While Prime Minister Keir Starmer is trying to bolster relations with the U.S., some U.K. lawmakers have questioned whether Trump should be awarded such an honor after he torpedoed long-standing norms for global trade, refused to condemn Russian aggression in Ukraine and proposed moving Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip.

“An invitation for a state visit is highly prized amongst world leaders,’’ said Craig Prescott, a constitutional law expert at Royal Holloway, University of London, who focuses on the political role of the monarchy. “Now, it won’t necessarily turn an enemy into an ally, but it can be part of that broader diplomatic move to maybe get the best out of someone.

"It’s that cherry on the top, but at times it could be a very valuable cherry.”

Queen Elizabeth II, Charles’ mother, hosted 112 state visits during her seven decades on the throne.

State visits are nothing if not a showcase for the British military, which has a global reputation for putting on displays of spit-and-polish precision by soldiers wearing their iconic scarlet tunics and bearskin hats.

Active duty troops who rotate from operational assignments to ceremonial duties put in thousands of hours of training to ensure everything goes off without a hitch.

Some 950 service members from all branches of the U.K. military will take part in the ceremonies, including 380 on street-lining duties and 180 in the Guard of Honor at Windsor Castle. Six military bands will perform a selection of both British and French music.

The display is seen by the British government as a nod to close defense and diplomatic ties but also hints at the ambition for the visit, which may see new defense and security commitments.

But one horse will get special attention. The Macrons will visit Fabuleu de Maucour, a horse given by the French leader to the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, when the nation celebrated the Platinum Jubilee marking her 70 years on the throne.

Count on the French language to be used both in private and in public.

King Charles made a point of speaking French when he addressed lawmakers in the Senate chamber in Paris on the second day of his visit to France in 2023. During that speech, the king said the alliance between Britain and France was more important than ever as he recalled how the two nations had worked together to defeat the Nazi regime.

Charles was a frequent visitor to France before becoming king, making 35 official visits to the country as heir to the throne.

Britain's Queen Camilla, from left, King Charles III with France's President Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte arrive for the State Banquet at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (Chris Jackson/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's King Charles III speaks at the State Banquet for President of France Emmanuel Macron, left, and his wife Brigitte Macron, at Windsor Castle, in Windsor, England, Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (Yui Mok/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla welcome France's President Emmanuel Macron, left, and his wife Brigitte Macron, right, in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Chris Jackson/Pool via AP)

Britain's Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales welcome France's President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron, left, in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Chris Jackson/Pool via AP)

Britain's King Charles III, 3rd right, Queen Camilla, center left, Prince William, second right, and Kate, Princess of Wales, right, welcome France's President Emmanuel Macron, 4th right, and his wife Brigitte Macron, left, in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Chris Jackson/Pool via AP)

Britain's King Charles III, Queen Camilla, French President Emmanuel Macron, second left, and his wife Brigitte Macron, right, attend a welcome ceremony, in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Dylan Martinez/Pool via AP)

Britain's King Charles III and France's President Emmanuel Macron, right, travel in a 1902 State Landau on a state drive to Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Chris Jackson/Pool via AP)

Britain's King Charles III, 3rd right, Queen Camilla, Prince William 3rd left, and Kate, Princess of Wales, left, walk with French President Emmanuel Macron, second right, and his wife Brigitte Macron, right, during a welcome ceremony, in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Dylan Martinez/Pool via AP)

Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla welcome France's President Emmanuel Macron, left, and his wife Brigitte Macron, right, in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Chris Jackson/Pool via AP)

Britain's King Charles III and French President Emmanuel Macron, left, review the Guard of Honour at Windsor Castle as part of a welcome ceremony for the French President and his wife Brigitte Macron, in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Dylan Martinez/Pool via AP)

Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla welcome French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte to Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Tuesday, July 8, 2025.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, Pool)

Britain's King Charles III, center left, and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Tuesday July 8, 2025, on the first day of a three-day state visit to Britain. (Jaimi Joy/Pool via AP)

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — In the aftermath of a fire inside a Swiss Alpine bar that killed 40 people celebrating the new year, survivors, friends and family members, the region’s top authorities and even Pope Leo have spoken to the public in remarks in French, Italian, German and English, reflecting the tradition of Swiss multilingualism.

Another 119 people were injured in the blaze early Thursday as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, authorities said. It was one of the deadliest tragedies in Switzerland’s history.

Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.

Here’s a look at what people said in the wake of the disaster:

— “I’m looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere,” Laetitia Brodard told reporters Friday in Crans-Montana as she searched for her son, 16-year-old Arthur. “I want to know, where is my child, and be by his side. Wherever that may be, be it in the intensive care unit or the morgue.”

— “We were bringing people out, people were collapsing. We were doing everything we could to save them, we helped as many as we could. We saw people screaming, running,” Marc-Antoine Chavanon, 14, told The Associated Press in Crans-Montana on Friday, recounting how he rushed to the bar to help the injured. “There was one of our friends: She was struggling to get out, she was all burned. You can’t imagine the pain I saw.”

— “It was hard to live through for everyone. Also probably because everyone was asking themselves, ‘Was my child, my cousin, someone from the region at this party?’” Eric Bonvin, general director of the regional hospital in Sion that took in dozens of injured people, told AP on Friday. “This place was very well known as somewhere to celebrate the new year,” Bonvin said. “Also, seeing young people arrive — that’s always traumatic.”

— “I have seen horror, and I don’t know what else would be worse than this,” Gianni Campolo, a Swiss 19-year-old who was in Crans-Montana on vacation and rushed to the bar to help first responders, told France's TF1 television.

—“You will understand that the priority today is truly placed on identification, in order to allow the families to begin their mourning,” Beatrice Pilloud, the Valais region's attorney general, told reporters Friday during a news conference in Sion.

Pope Leo said in a telegram Friday to the bishop of Sion that he " wishes to express his compassion and concern to the relatives of the victims. He prays that the Lord will welcome the deceased into His abode of peace and light, and will sustain the courage of those who suffer in their hearts or in their bodies.”

— “We have numerous accounts of heroic actions, one could say of very strong solidarity in the moment,” Cantonal head of government Mathias Reynard told RTS radio Friday. "In the first minutes it was citizens — and in large part young people — who saved lives with their courage.”

— “Switzerland is a strong country not because it is sheltered from drama, but because it knows how to face them with courage and a spirit of mutual help," Swiss President Guy Parmelin, speaking on his first day in the position that changes hands annually, told reporters Thursday.

People bring flowers near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)

A woman holding a stuffed animal, whose daughter is missing, gather with others near the sealed-off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

People light candles near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)