In Paris, Charles and Camilla were to join Macron in a tribute and wreath-laying ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, where household waste has been piling up because of a strike by waste collectors since early March.
Charles – a French-speaker since the age of seven and a frequent visitor – was to address the Senate, and was hosted at a state banquet before heading southwest to Bordeaux.
As per the initial programme, he was to visit areas devastated by last year’s wildfires as well as visit an organic vineyard.
The focus will now turn to Germany next week, where he will receive a ceremonial welcome at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, meet Ukrainian refugees and address the Bundestag.
In the northern city of Hamburg, he will be briefed on the port’s adoption of green technologies – an issue close to his heart as a lifelong environmentalist.
The state visit was intended to deflect attention from the blanket coverage of Charles’ youngest son Prince Harry’s autobiography and his Netflix documentary with his wife Meghan, both of which criticized royal life.
Charles, who was heir to the throne for 70 years, is less popular than his mother in opinion polls and has faced anti-monarchy protests since coming to the throne.