State auditors slam Élysée Palace spending on lavish dinners and trips
A report published this week by France’s national audit body, the Cour des comptes, sounds the alarm over a leap in spending by the country’s presidential office, which left a budget deficit in 2023 of 8 million euros. The auditors target the costs of lavish entertainment, state banquets and travel in France and abroad. Top of the list of eye-watering dinner bills was a banquet organised at Versailles Palace in honour of King Charles III last September, and which came to just over 474,000 euros. Ilyes Ramdani and Antton Rouget report.
WhenWhen Britain’s King Charles began a state visit to France last September, a banquet was held in his honour in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles Palace, where more than 150 guests, including showbiz stars, sports personalities and high-flyers from the world of business were seated along the length of a 60-metre table. Blue lobster and crab were among the starters, followed by Bresse chicken and a porcini gratin, all accompanied by fine wines, followed by cheeses that included a Comté matured over 30 months, and ending with a desert of raspberry, lichee and rose macarons.
