King Louis Selling His Dishes on eBay

Imagine if the Resolute Desk or a set of White House china turned up on eBay. Well, that’s similar to what happened a few days ago in France. It was discovered that the online retail website had some suspicious objects on the auction block: several hundred pieces of art and furniture from the Palais de l’Élysée, the Paris residence of the President of France. According to French newspapers, the E.U. Court of Auditors found thirty-two works of art and six hundred twenty-five pieces of furniture missing from the Palais de l’Élysée, and from other presidential residences like La Lanterne and the Fort de Brégançon. Among the pieces are porcelain dishes from the Manufacture National de Sèvres, which dates back to the time of Louis XV. To call this a plain-and-simple security breach would be a bit of an understatement. But at least all the works are in one piece. Former President Sarkozy’s dogs shredded the armrests of some centuries-old chairs.