Let them eat lobster! France spent over $500,000 on a state dinner for King Charles
CNN
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.
Nippon Steel is expected to re-file its application for a national security review by American regulators of its $15 billion takeover bid of US Steel, sources familiar with the matter told CNN on Tuesday, buying Japan’s largest steelmaker an additional 90 days to close its acquisition of an American rival after political opposition emerged in an election year.
So far, the attacks that targeted Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah members through their pagers have had devastating consequences. At least nine people, including an eight-year-old girl, were killed, and at least 2,800 were wounded. Over 150 of those injured are in critical condition, according to the Lebanese health minister.