French President Emmanuel Macron’s office ran up a million-euro ($1,110,120) budget overrun when it spared no expense on a lavish lobster dinner for Britain’s King Charles and other state banquets, a public audit has said.
The information is released at the same time as the government tries to cover current public spending, among the highest in the world, in relation to the size of the economy.
Macron offered the king and his wife, Queen Camilla, last September blue lobster, a French bird with mushrooms gratinand a selection of French and English cheeses during the State Dinner in the famous Hall of Mirrors at the 17th century Palace of Versailles.
This cost the French state 475,000 euros (R$2,896,975), including 166,000 euros (R$1,012,622) for the buffet alone, the court of auditors said on Monday (29) in a report on the finances of the French presidency.
Eager to persuade New Delhi to buy more French submarines and fighter jets, Macron also held a state dinner at the Louvre in July 2023 in honor of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, costing 412,000 euros ($4,512,437), the auditor said.
Banquets held at the president’s Elysée palace cost much less, he added, noting that a state dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping in May cost just 138,000 euros ($180,000).
The auditor also questioned the rising cost of presidential travel abroad, including the increasing use of an Airbus A330 for international flights at a cost of more than 23,000 euros per hour (R$140,226).
As a result of increased spending on official dinners and travel, the presidency’s costs rose 6.5% last year to 117.2 million euros ($715 million), leaving a budget deficit of 8.3 million euros ($50 million), the audit said.
Source: CNN Brasil
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