When the carriage that Charles III. transported, drove through Westminster Abbey, Anna Edwards did not fervently wave the British flag, but waved her placard with a disrespectful ‘Not My King’ crossed out as high as possible.
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Like them, hundreds of “pro-republic” protesters settled in Trafalgar Square early Saturday morning and set up giant yellow “Abolish The Monarchy” flags along the road the King took before he was crowned.
“I’m pro-democracy and I think people should have a choice whether they want a monarch as head of state or not,” said the 33-year-old Londoner.
“I’m not particularly anti-monarchy, but I’m pro-election,” she told AFP as protesters turned out in their hundreds in good spirits.
However, one question is on everyone’s lips: will the police, who have announced very little “tolerance” towards the protests, intervene to prevent the mobilization?
These fears were quickly confirmed: the Republican movement behind the demonstration announced that its leader Graham Smith had been arrested along with five other activists and that “hundreds of signs” with the slogan “Not my King” had been entered.
“Free Graham Smith,” the demonstrators then began to shout.
On a high platform, police monitor the crowd, binoculars and cameras in hand to spot the slightest overflow.
“That’s exactly why we’re here today. Because the monarchy represents everything that’s wrong with the UK: privilege, inequality and the lack of democracy,” Martin Weegman told AFP with the Republic cap screwed on.
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“I don’t think so, it’s a scandal,” complains Eva, 19, and scrolls through the pictures of the arrests on her cell phone.
This math student says she hadn’t planned to come but changed her mind on Wednesday’s announcement of the accelerated promulgation of a new law that has been criticized by the UN and gives police more power to deal with “serious civil unrest”. impede.
“There’s nothing wrong with this law, so I don’t want to celebrate anything in particular,” she adds.
“monarchy obsolete”
Republicans remain a very small minority in the UK, but they have become more visible since the death of the much-loved Elizabeth II last September, and a handful of them have been demonstrating almost systematically during Charles III’s movements.
Hundreds of people also demonstrated against the monarchy in Cardiff, Wales, on Saturday. Before meeting in a city park for a ‘Big Republican Lunch’, a reaction to the ‘Big Lunch’ planned for Sunday across the UK in honor of the coronation.
In London, Alice Ridge, 65, donned the Union Jack hat to cheer for the new king but reluctantly found herself amid pro-republic protests.
“Don’t spoil the party,” she says, clearly annoyed, before walking away.
The fellowship between the protesters and the rest of the crowd is cordial, but as the royal procession approaches, “Not My King” and “Down With The Crown” are immediately booed by the ardent admirers of the monarchy , singing the national anthem “God Save The King” while waving the British flag.
Jane Sutton, in her mid-thirties, is amused by this confrontation. She is pleased that, despite the rain, so many demonstrators have come to criticize an “outdated” monarchy.
“There is now a real voice for republicanism” in the UK, stresses Anna, 54, who wishes to remain anonymous.
She recalls recent polls showing a surge in Republican sentiment, particularly among the youngest: “The time has come.”