PARIS:

Protests and strikes planned for Thursday in France have forced a delay in the transfer to a secret location of the Bayeux Tapestry ahead of its historic planned loan to the UK next year, an official said.

French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to loan the mediaeval tapestry—which records the 1066 Norman conquest of Anglo-Saxon England—to the British Museum in 2026 to celebrate Franco-British relations.

After the museum where the tapestry is held in the town of Bayeux in Normandy closed for renovations, the tapestry was due to be removed on Thursday to a secret location in France ahead of the loan.

"Due to the expected mobilisation tomorrow (Thursday)," the local authorities do not consider they are "able to ensure the security of such a high-profile transfer and... of such an

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