Luxurious Dinner: France Hosts King Charles in Extravagant Style

News Today: France Hosts King Charles to Lavish Dinner Costing 155 Million Rupees

A lavish lobster dinner for King Charles III cost the French president’s office €450,000 (Rs.155,000,000), according to the country’s audit office. President Emmanuel Macron pulled out all the stops for the monarch’s visit in September, treating guests to blue lobster, crab, and an assortment of cheese.

The Cour des Comptes, France’s audit office, warned in its annual report of the presidential accounts that higher spending on state receptions had contributed to leaving their budget €8.3 million in the red. The Elysée now needs to make “significant efforts… to restore and sustain 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 included actor Hugh Grant, football manager Arsene Wenger, and Rolling Stone Mick Jagger. The menu featured blue lobster and crab, followed by Bresse poultry and mushroom gratin, and a course of cheeses, including French Comté and British Stichelton blue. For dessert, guests 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 the key alliance between the two countries. Originally scheduled for March, the visit was postponed due to widespread protests over pension reform in major cities.

The King’s visit is not the only one cited in the report. A July 2023 banquet for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Louvre, which cost the presidential office €412,000, was also mentioned. The audit office noted that due to higher spending on state receptions, expenditure increased by 14% compared to the previous year, while revenue earned by the presidency only gained 6.5%.