Charles' lobster dinner is going to be expensive for Macron
The French Court of Auditors is upset: The country's budget is currently showing a multi-million deficit. Expensive state banquets hosted by Macron are partly to blame. A state banquet with the British royals was particularly costly.
Under high security and with a lavish state banquet, King Charles III and Queen Camilla's three-day state visit to France in September 2023 took place at the Palace of Versailles. It is now being revealed, a year later, how much the French President Emmanuel Macron's bill was. According to the BBC, the French Court of Auditors reports that the opulent meal with lobster cost 475,000 euros.
In its annual report on the presidential accounts, the Cour des Comptes states that higher spending on state banquets contributed to the budget being 8.3 million in the red. The Élysée Palace must now "make significant efforts to restore and maintain the financial balance of the presidency."
Lobster, Crab, Chicken, Mushroom Gratin, Macarons
Why were the costs so high? At the state banquet at the Palace of Versailles, of course, not only Charles and Camilla, but also an illustrious round of stars and prominent personalities were present alongside the French President. Among the guests in September were actors Hugh Grant, football coach and functionary Arsène Wenger, and Rolling Stones member Mick Jagger. They were all served a menu of blue lobster and crab, followed by Bresse chicken and mushroom gratin. There was also a cheese selection and rose macarons made of rose petal cream, strawberries, and lychees.
The new report from the French Court of Auditors also mentions other state banquets with high costs, such as the banquet for the Indian Prime Minister in July 2023 at the Louvre for 412,000 euros. The president's expenses have increased by 14 percent compared to the previous year, it says.
The Cour des Comptes, in its annual report on the presidential accounts, criticizes The President Macron for contributing to the budget deficit with his extravagant state banquets. The French President's bill for the state banquet with King Charles III and Queen Camilla was reportedly 475,000 euros.
