Media: French Court of Accounts found Elysee Palace expenses for receptions and visits exorbitant
France’s Cour des Comptes (Court of Accounts), which keeps an eye on state budgets, lamented a ‘sharp rise’ in presidential spending for visas and receptions, TASS reports
As noted in its report, which was reviewed by the Les Echos newspaper, the total amount of the Elysee Palace’s expenses in 2023 made up 125.5m Euros. Thus, the administration of the French leader spent 21m Euros on receptions and visits last year – exceeding the planned budget by 8.3m.
The number of receptions organised by the Elysee Palace has increased to 171 – significantly more than in 2019, when there were 146 such events. The most expensive in 2023 was the dinner in honour of King Charles III of Great Britain, held in Versailles, costing 475,000 Euros.
The department insists that the Elysee Palace make significant efforts to reduce current expenses, with auditors pointing out a large number of unforeseen expenses due to problems with planning and internal organisation.
The Court of Accounts made recommendations to the presidential administration to streamline the costs of visits and receptions.
