A state dinner with the U.K.’s king cost the French nearly €500,000.

A decadent dinner costing nearly €475,000 for the U.K.’s King Charles III helped push France’s Élysée Palace — the office of President Emmanuel Macron —to a record high deficit last year.

France’s love for grand gestures and opulent dining are fully in evidence in the pages of a damning  yearly audit of the Élysée’s budget, released on Monday by the Cour des Comptes, France’s top audit court.

The Élysée’s spending, which includes costs related to the president’s diplomatic and presidential duties as well as administration, personnel, security and estate management, reached a whopping €125 million, plunging the books €8.3 million into the red.

Among the biggest deficit drivers were two luxurious state dinners, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and King Charles III.

  • TriPolarBearz@lemmy.worldEnglish
    22·
    3 months ago

    Gordon: welcome to my fancy private dinner experience. What can I make for you?

    Guest: I would like your finest grilled cheese sandwich please.

    Gordon: oh fuck, oh shit!

    • andrewta@lemmy.worldEnglish
      7·
      3 months ago

      Lol I can hear him saying that.

      Also for good measure

      “for dessert I’d like, a banana freshly peeled with a small glass of grocery store orange juice.”

      • deranger@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        9·
        3 months ago

        What the fuck was that?? I was hoping for some chronic grilly chee but that was an abomination. I’ve seen children make better grilled cheese sandwiches.

      • UselesslyBrisk@infosec.pubEnglish
        1·
        3 months ago

        For one…thats a melt. And it doesnt look great. But I think there in lies the rub. even the best chefs get there by experimenting and trying new things and even then, when they get outside their wheelhouse, they arent any better than that dude at your local diner.