A thread just for political topics that aren't important, but are rather of a strange and frivolous nature, from both around the world and the US.
I'll start with this:
Full article: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44480957
I'll start with this:
Full article: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44480957
Macrons' new dinner plates spark French cash row
France's presidential couple are the centre of allegations that the Élysée Palace is shelling out a fortune on a new dinner service while complaining about the scale of the welfare budget.
The 1,200-piece set, chosen by First Lady Brigitte Macron, cost €50,000 (£44,000; $59,000), the state said.
But a leading satirical magazine says the real cost is nearer €500,000.
The claim surfaced as a video emerged of President Emmanuel Macron talking of "shedloads of cash" spent on benefits.
The video, posted on Twitter by the president's communications spokesman, went viral and prompted accusations of contempt for the poor, feeding into perceptions of a privileged president aloof from how the public live.
Why are the Macrons changing the plates?
Some of the Élysée crockery dates back to Jacques Chirac's time as president over a decade ago, and some even from René Coty's time in the 1950s.
Officials say it has to be replaced because it is getting old and is no longer complete.
Enter the Sèvres porcelain factory that has historically supplied the Élysée with its ceramics since 1848. The Bleu Élysée design by Évariste Richer is a sketch of the presidential palace itself.
The Élysée said the bill for producing the 900 plates and 300 side plates came out of the factory's annual budget. So the cost of €50,000 was for paying the artists involved in creating the design.
But Le Canard enchaîné magazine calculated the real cost of hand-painting 1,200 plates was far higher, at least €400 a plate. That would be almost 10 times the official estimated cost.
Others have put the bill at closer to €200 a plate and pointed out that the factory is 60% funded by the culture ministry to the tune of €3.6m a year. The head of the porcelain factory supervising the project said the price of the dinner service had not yet been worked out, but the bill would not be charged to the presidential palace.
France's presidential couple are the centre of allegations that the Élysée Palace is shelling out a fortune on a new dinner service while complaining about the scale of the welfare budget.
The 1,200-piece set, chosen by First Lady Brigitte Macron, cost €50,000 (£44,000; $59,000), the state said.
But a leading satirical magazine says the real cost is nearer €500,000.
The claim surfaced as a video emerged of President Emmanuel Macron talking of "shedloads of cash" spent on benefits.
The video, posted on Twitter by the president's communications spokesman, went viral and prompted accusations of contempt for the poor, feeding into perceptions of a privileged president aloof from how the public live.
Why are the Macrons changing the plates?
Some of the Élysée crockery dates back to Jacques Chirac's time as president over a decade ago, and some even from René Coty's time in the 1950s.
Officials say it has to be replaced because it is getting old and is no longer complete.
Enter the Sèvres porcelain factory that has historically supplied the Élysée with its ceramics since 1848. The Bleu Élysée design by Évariste Richer is a sketch of the presidential palace itself.
The Élysée said the bill for producing the 900 plates and 300 side plates came out of the factory's annual budget. So the cost of €50,000 was for paying the artists involved in creating the design.
But Le Canard enchaîné magazine calculated the real cost of hand-painting 1,200 plates was far higher, at least €400 a plate. That would be almost 10 times the official estimated cost.
Others have put the bill at closer to €200 a plate and pointed out that the factory is 60% funded by the culture ministry to the tune of €3.6m a year. The head of the porcelain factory supervising the project said the price of the dinner service had not yet been worked out, but the bill would not be charged to the presidential palace.
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