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The secrets backstage at the Elysée Palace
  • 94'
  • Authors : Guillaume Maurice, Manuel Laigre
  • 26-04-2015
  • Master : 2451

The secrets backstage at the Elysée Palace | M6 | Zone Interdite

Tonight you will discover France’s foremost residence as you have never seen it before. Over several months we lived side by side with the men and women who work daily in the very center of power. 800 men and women who embody French excellence.  They are the essential cogs in the machine of the Elysée and some of them have worked in the palace for over 30 years, because Presidents come and go… but they remain. In the 500m2 of kitchens, chef Guillaume Gomez, the youngest Champion Craftsman of France, holds a strategic post at the age of 36. Gastronomy is a diplomatic weapon for the Presidency, especially during state dinners, those summit receptions held in honor of foreign heads of state, where ministers, businessmen and the art world rub shoulders. Under the chef’s command is a 22-strong brigade. The youngest member, Kilian, just 15 years old, is taking his first steps in the palace as an apprentice pastry chef. His first notable diners: the King and Queen of Sweden! Virginie Routis is the first female sommelier in the Elysée. Previously she performed her functions in the grandest of hotels in Paris.  In her cellar are 11,000 bottles: the greatest of vintages, but also Jacques Chirac’s collection of saké. However, these days, more and more small producers are getting into the Elysian cellars, because economy is the order of the day! The Elysée budget, even at 101.5 million Euros per year, is nevertheless 8% lower than that of previous administrations. And in times of crisis, salaries at the Elysée are also in the front line. The morning after the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo, the Palace went into lockdown. Mike, François Hollande’s bodyguard, and the entire security team went onto high alert. For the first time a camera has followed the special forces of the Republican Guard as they train within the state rooms themselves or in the bowels of the palace. An original insight into the secrets of the Elysée.


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