The numbers speak for themselves. The Cour des Comptes, France’s supreme auditor, has published the expenses of the Elysée and the accounts of Emmanuel Macron’s administration. One of the accounts that has attracted the most attention is the bill paid by the Presidency for the gala dinner held at Versailles in honour of Charles III’s state visit in September 2023. A banquet of glamour and Michelin stars.
The event took place at the Palace of Versailles. 160 guests attended, including the monarch and the British Mick Jagger and Hugh Grant. Before the event, Anne-Sophie Pic, a galactic star of the kitchen with ten Michelin stars, Yannick Alléno and Pierre Hermé sent the menu to London for approval by the House. It was highly publicised that foie was excluded, as it is very present in the chef’s kitchen. So much so that Pierre Hermé even uses it to make his macarons. The exclusion was due to the royal ban by Charles III of using foie gras in the kitchens of the Windsor residences due to the animal suffering caused by its preparation.
With foie gras banned (and asparagus too, because it was not in season), the dinner served at the palace was a feast of delicacies: blue lobster and crab with a veil of fresh almonds and a touch of mint and coconut gel. The main course was Bresse poultry flavoured with corn and gratinated with porcini mushrooms. For dessert, macaron of roses, lychees and raspberries. The bill: 475,000 euros, including 165,000 dollars in catering and 40,000 in wine. Among the wines tasted was the Château Mouton Rothschild 2004 (whose price per bottle exceeds 1,800 euros). The digital Isidewith.com reports, citing Cour des Comptes as a source.
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