Elysee Palace’s ballroom to get grey makeover

FRANCE’S President Emmanuel Macron has given the green light to a €500,000 (£445,000) makeover of the Elysée Palace’s gilded Salle des Fêtes, its vast ballroom, turning it from “empire red” to “six shades of grey”.

The overhaul, the first in decades, comes after the Elysée’s new shop has done a roaring trade since opening a week ago selling presidential mugs and other merchandise, with the benefits going toward the palatial renovations.

With huge chandeliers, red and gold walls and carpet and 19th-century painted ceilings, the Salle des Fêtes is used for up to 200 events a year, from press conferences and state dinners to swearing in new French presidents.

The last time it received a makeover was in 1984, when the Socialist president François Mitterrand ordered the addition of 10 French windows. However, the vast hall has since lost a good deal of its lustre.

Work will commence next month to turn the hall’s walls from “empire red” to “18th-century grey”, in fact six shades of grey spread across carpets, tapestries and 30 pairs of curtains.