ALBAWABA - The French president's office spent €475,000 ($514,189) on a lavish lobster dinner for King Charles III's state visit in September 2023, according to the country's audit office. The extravagant banquet, held at the Palace of Versailles, was part of the three-day visit aimed at reinforcing the alliance between France and the UK.
The dinner menu included blue lobster, crab, Bresse poultry, mushroom gratin, French Comté and British Stichelton blue cheeses, and a rose macaroon dessert. Over €165,000 ($178,619) was spent on catering, with another €40,000 ($43,303) on drinks.
The audit office, known as the Cour des Comptes, warned that higher spending on state receptions had contributed to leaving the presidential budget €8.3m in the red. The office said the Elysée now needs to make "significant efforts... to restore and sustain the financial balance of the presidency."
This was not the only expensive state dinner cited in the report. A July 2023 banquet for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Louvre cost the presidential office €412,000 ($446,020).
