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Luxuries prepared for King Charles that infuriated French anti-government protesters included his ‘favourite vintage cheese’ and bottles of wine ‘worth hundreds’ before his state visit was cancelled, it emerged today.
30-month-old Comté and accompanying Claret were all part of a Michelin-starred banquet being prepared in the Palace of Versailles as part of the state visit.
It was dramatically cancelled on Friday after President Emmanuel Macron admitted he could not guarantee security for Charles and Camilla.
There has been more than a week of rioting across France after Mr Macron raised the retirement age from 62 to 64 without a parliamentary vote.
It led to claims that the French president was more interested in living the high life with fellow heads of state than worrying about his struggling constituents.
Details of the Michelin-starred banquet that was being prepared for King Charles and French President Emmanuel Macron have been leaked
The banquet was going to take place in the spectacular Hall of Mirrors at Versailles – once the home of French kings and queens
30-month-old Comté and accompanying Claret were part of the banquet being prepared as part of the state visit
The visit was dramatically cancelled on Friday after President Emmanuel Macron admitted he could not guarantee security for Charles and Camilla
Now, details of the banquet which was set to take place in the spectacular Hall of Mirrors at Versailles – once the home of French kings and queens – have been leaked.
‘No expense was being spared – Macron and Charles were going to dine like old world monarchs,’ said a source who was involved in preparations for the visit which was due to start on Sunday.
Michelin chefs Anne-Sophie Pic and Yannick Alléno were going to start the feast with green asparagus.
The main course was Bresse chicken with truffles, followed by cheeses including ‘a thirty-month-old Comté, which we were told is the King’s favourite,’ said the source.
It was to be accompanied by ‘rhubarb water jelly’ prepared by ‘master cheesemakers,’ Anthony, said the source.
The dessert – a tarte tatin with caramel and dried fruit – was to be made by pastry chef Pierre Hermé.
Wine, including Claret to go with the cheese, would come from the Élysée Palace cellar, where ‘routine bottles cost hundreds,’ the source added.
Charles and Camilla with President Emmanuel Macron in 2020. Leaked details of the lavish banquet have led to claims that Macron is more interested in living the high life with fellow heads of state than worrying about his struggling constituents
French unions and anarchists have been protesting this week after Macron forced a higher retirement age through parliament without a vote
Riot police scuffle with a protester during a rally in Paris yesterday. Hundreds of officers have been injured
Michelin chefs Anne-Sophie Pic (pictured) and Yannick Alléno were going to start the fancy feast for Charles and Macron with green asparagus
Comté is a classic French cheese made from unpasteurised cows’ milk in the Franche-Comté region of Eastern France.
Comté is aged in cellars for at least 4 months, and has had an AOP – the French mark for protected status – since 1952.
Threats that persuaded Mr Macron to cancel the British state visit included the words ‘Death to the King.
READ MORE: King Charles likes to ‘mingle with crowds’ so would not be safe in riot-hit Paris, France warns – as Emmanuel Macron says ‘common sense and friendship’ led to ‘detestable’ decision to postpone trip
The macabre message was scrawled by protesters on walls, prompting him to say: ‘I think it would not be responsible and would lack some common sense if we invited His Majesty the King and the Queen Consort for a state visit in the midst of the demonstrations.’
Senior politicians including Mr Macron had received threats evoking the guillotine used to execute Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette – the last rightful king and queen of France.
The words ‘Death to the King’ had even appeared in bright red graffiti on Place de la Concorde – the central Paris square where Louis and his wife were killed.
Another scrawled message read ‘Charles III do you know the guillotine?’
The French feared the security of King Charles could not be guaranteed ‘because of his interest in mingling with crowds,’ according to security sources.
A crack team of officers from the SDLP Protection Service unit rigorously studied the monarch’s profile.
‘They became aware of the King’s habit of impromptu handshakes, and talking to ordinary people whenever he could,’ said a source who was involved in the planning of four-days of events.
‘There are huge social tensions in France, and there is no doubt that such good manners could have been very dangerous indeed.’
The development was a major humiliation for Mr Macron, especially as a visit to Germany by the Royal couple next week will go ahead as planned.
Eric Ciotti, leader of the opposition Republicans party in France, said the chaotic security situation was a national embarrassment.
‘The visit of Charles III is cancelled by the government due to social unrest,’ said Mr Ciotti.
‘What an image for our country, which is not even able to ensure the security of a head of state’.
Referring to Mr Macron as a ‘republican monarch’, Left-Wing firebrand MP and former presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon said he was ‘delighted to see the meeting of kings at Versailles broken up by popular censorship’.
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