The last time a King paid a state visit to Paris, there were 35,000 French soldiers lined up along his route to the Quai d'Orsay and a massive Union Jack flag was unfurled from the top of the Eiffel Tower, reports the BBC.
This was in 1938, and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the future Queen Mother, were cementing an alliance about to be put once again to the test in war.
Parisians turned out en masse.
"When the loudspeakers hidden in the trees began God Save the King, it was as if the whole capital - what am I saying? the whole of France! - was singing the British national anthem," gushed Wladimir d'Ormesson in Le Figaro newspaper.
"One had the feeling that each and every Parisian - and they were out there in their millions - wanted to welcome personally the royal guests."
Eighty-five years later- on the surface at least - there was a rather different ambience.
When King Charles III and President Emmanuel Macron processed down the Champs-Élysées on Wednesday, it would be unfair to say the cavalry escort outnumbered cheering onlookers.
But it would not be far off, and most of those were tourists.
Half-way down the avenue the two chefs d'état sensibly withdrew from their waving position in the open-top limousine and returned to their seats because actually there was no-one to wave to.