A French Dinner for the Queen - in the Kitchens of the Elysée Palace

On the occasion of D-Day commemoration ceremonies, the Queen of England is paying an official state visit in France and will be attending a banquet as the guest of honor at the official residence of the President of the Republic of France, the Elysée Palace. This documentary film will describe the event from the kitchens of power, the true vitrine of French gastronomy which has been on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2010. We will follow the work of the teams of the famous chef Guillaume Gomez, from the conception of the menus to the selection of products with the best French producers as well as the installation of the reception hall. A true challenge for a prestigious guest.

Sarkozy Told to Prune Cost of Carla’s Flowers
THE SUNDAY TIMES: PRESIDENT Nicolas Sarkozy has been told to trim his flower bill after the first inspection of a French ruler’s expenses revealed that his palace spent £600 a day on bouquets.

Sarkozy ordered the opening of the Elysée Palace accounts as part of the “transparency” he advocates in government. It may have backfired on him by revealing a colossal waste of public money at a time when others are tightening their belts.

The exorbitant florist’s bill can be attributed to Carla Bruni, the president’s wife, a folk singer and former top model who has a passion for freshly cut flowers. Bernadette Chirac, her predecessor, had a similar obsession – particularly for roses – but saved money by growing them in the palace grounds.

Philippe Séguin, the state auditor, recommended cutting food costs as well as the floral bill: the palace always went to the same suppliers, he complained, even if it meant paying twice as much – £170,000 a year at the butcher, £217,000 at the greengrocer and just over £100,000 in cheese shops. >>> Matthew Campbell | Sunday, July 26, 2009

Nicolas Sarkozy: The Problem with the President
THE INDEPENDENT: He swaggered into the Elysée Palace on a promise to reinvent France for the 21st century. But after just eight months, Nicolas Sarkozy's popularity is plummeting – and his personal life is becoming a soap opera. Is he up to the job? John Lichfield reports

Tuesday, 12 February 2008

Imagine, for a moment, President Charles de Gaulle in dark glasses and dark roll-top jumper sitting at a café terrace in Versailles with his newly married pop-singer wife.Imagine also le Général in open-neck shirt and jeans on an Egyptian holiday. The tall, austere saviour of France is walking, hand in hand, with Mick Jagger's ex-girlfriend. Her small son sits on his shoulders, looking embarrassed.

Imagine, for a moment, President Jacques Chirac in the Vatican, fiddling compulsively with the buttons of his mobile phone as his companions are being presented to the Pope. The presidential entourage includes, incidentally, France's most vulgar and foul-mouthed comedian, Jean-Marie Bigard, a kind of Gallic Bernard Manning.

Imagine, for a moment, President François Mitterrand receiving ministerial visits to his office in the Elysée Palace with his feet up on his desk. Worse, imagine the suave, icy President Mitterrand addressing almost everyone he meets with the familiar "tu", instead of the dignified and respectful "vous".

In his eight months as French head of state, Nicolas Sarkozy has done all these things and more. Genres have been confused, values muddled, conventions trampled, traditions overturned.

President Sarkozy promised last year to reinvent France for the 21st century, while preserving, or rekindling, "traditional values". He has started by reinventing – or, some say, desecrating – the French presidency. Nicolas Sarkozy: The problem with the president >>> By John Lichfield

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)