Let them eat lobster! France spent over $500,000 on a state dinner for King Charles

Entertaining the King of England is an expensive business, France is finding out.

Entertaining the King of England is an expensive business, France is finding out. A sumptuous lobster dinner held to welcome Britain’s King Charles III to Paris last September cost the French president’s office nearly €475,000 ($515,000), according to accounts published on Monday by France’s public auditor. The lavish affair at the Palace of Versailles, which saw around 180 guests tuck into a feast of blue lobster, crab cakes and champagne-marinated chicken, helped blow an €8.3 million-sized hole ($9 million) in the Élysée Palace’s budget last year, the auditor said. The watchdog, which is responsible for scrutinizing presidential finances, including spending on staff, security and diplomatic duties, said the Élysée Palace’s expenses had topped €125 million ($136 million) during 2023 — up 14% from the previous year. The overspend was part of a much bigger French government budget deficit in 2023, which has just earned the country a rap on the knuckles from the European Union. The state dinner included outlays of more than €166,000 ($180,000) for catering and €42,000 ($46,000) for drinks, on top of other costs including furniture, flowers and table decorations.