A lavish lobster dinner for King Charles III cost the French president’s office €475,000 (£400,000), according to the country’s audit office.
President Emmanuel Macron pulled out all the stops for the monarch’s visit in September – with guests being treated to blue lobster, crab and an assortment of cheeses.
But in its annual report of the presidential accounts, the Cour des Comptes warned that higher spending on state receptions had contributed to leaving their budget €8.3m in the red.
And it says the Elysée now needs to make “significant efforts… to restore and sustain the financial balance of the financial balance of the presidency”.
Of the money spent on the dinner, over €165,000 was on catering, with another €40,000 on drinks.
Guests at the star-studded banquet – which included actor Hugh Grant, football manager Arsene Wenger and Rolling Stone Mick Jagger – were treated to a menu of blue lobster and crab followed by Bresse poultry and mushroom gratin.
There was also a course of cheeses – including French Comté and British Stichelton blue.
And for dessert they were served a rose macaroon cookie, composed of rose petal cream, raspberries and lychees.
The extravagant banquet at the Palace of Versailles was part of King Charles’ three-day state visit to France, aimed at reinforcing a key alliance between the two countries.
It had been originally scheduled for March, but was postponed after widespread protests over pension reform hit major cities.
The King’s visit is not the only one cited in the report, with a July 2023 banquet for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Louvre – which cost the presidential office €412,000 – also mentioned.
As a result of higher spending, including on these state receptions, expenditure increased by 14% on the previous year, the audit office said.
That compared to only a 6.5% gain in revenue earned by the presidency.
