Macron criticised for spending £44,000 on plates after attacking 'crazy amount of cash' France puts into welfare

First Lady Brigitte Macron picks out 1,200-piece crockery set

Emmanuel Macron has been dubbed 'president of the rich' by far-left critics (Reuters)

The French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife have been accused of wasting taxpayers' money after reportedly shelling out a fortune on new plates for the Élysée Palace.

France's First Lady Brigitte Macron chose the 1,200-piece set that the states say cost €50,000 (£44,000).

However French satirical magazine Le Canard enchaine has claimed the set was likely to cost closer to €500,000 (£440,000).

Further controversy arose as the price of the plates was announced shortly after a video emerged showing Mr Macron discussing the "crazy amount of cash" France has put into welfare, and the apparent lack of effect it has had in helping people out of poverty.

The video was posted to Twitter by a member of his communications team.

Mr Macron has previously been dubbed the "president of the rich" by his far-left critics, however he and his wife's latest expenditure does adhere to national tradition.

Some of the current crockery, which is used by official guests at the Élysée, dates back to Jacques Chirac's time as president over ten years ago. Some is even older, having been used by René Coty in the 1950s.

The crockery for the French presidential palace has been supplied by the Sèvres porcelain factory since 1848.

The employees of the factory are civil servants and the money paid by the Élysée would have paid for the designer's fee, while the rest of the bill would be covered by the factory which is partly financed by Frances' culture ministry.

It is believed Le Canard enchaine's price estimate comes from the catalogue price of the crockery, which would not apply to purchases made by the Élysée.

Despite these clarifications, many people could not look past the poor timing of announcing the purchase of plates the same week that Mr Macron was talking about welfare in such flippant terms.

One Twitter user said: "You put a crazy amount of cash into plates and people are not happy."