Lobster for half a millionBanquet with King Charles tears a hole in Macron's budget
Bruno Bötschi
31.7.2024
Emmanuel Macron welcomes King Charles III to Versailles: The state banquet for the British royal is said to have cost almost half a million euros.
Image:IMAGO/i Images
In the fall of 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron received King Charles for a state visit. The two enjoyed themselves. The banquet for the 160 guests alone is said to have cost 475,000 euros.
31.07.2024, 10:40
Bruno Bötschi
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French President Emmanuel Macron received the British King Charles for a state banquet in September 2023.
It has now been revealed that the luxurious dinner at the Palace of Versailles contributed to the Élysée Palace's budget deficit.
The banquet for Charles and the other 160 guests is said to have cost around 475,000 euros.
Together with 160 guests - including Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger and actor Hugh Grant - the celebrity duo dined at the Palace of Versailles, the former seat of the French Sun King Louis XIV.
Anyone who dines in such a glamorous place wants to do so in a truly sumptuous manner: among other things, blue lobster, Bresse chicken and a cheese aged for 30 months were served.
Two state banquets are to blame for the red figures
After the French Court of Auditors, the Cour de Comptes, published its annual report on the budget of the Office of the President this week, it is now clear that so much good has its price.
According to the report, the Élysée Palace's deficit amounts to around 8.3 million euros.
Two state banquets in particular are said to be to blame for the deep red figures - the aforementioned dinner for King Charles and the one for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last June.
The dinner with King Charles cost 475,000 euros
The dinner with Charles and his entourage is said to have cost around 475,000 euros. How were these high costs put together?
The catering alone cost 166,000 euros. In addition, there were expenses for wine and other drinks amounting to 42,000 euros. The furniture and other materials used were charged at 90,000 euros.
In contrast, the dinner with the Indian president at the Louvre Palace in Paris was comparatively inexpensive. It was billed at 412,000 euros.