Mireille Mathieu, Sophie Marceau, Luc Besson, Salma Hayek among the celebrities invited to the dinner in honor of Xi Jinping in Paris

Several personalities were invited to a state dinner in honor of Chinese President Xi Jinping, received with fanfare and pomp at the Invalides, with a red carpet and a banquet at the Élysée Palace, on his first European tour of 2019.

Among the personalities invited to the state dinner at the Élysée Palace were the singer Mireille Mathieu, the writer and composer Jean-Michel Jarre with his wife, the Chinese-Singaporean actress Gong Li, or the actress Sophie Marceau.

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Actress Salma Hayek arrived with her husband, Francois-Henri Pinault, a billionaire and the chairman-general manager of the Kering group (Gucci, Saint-Laurent, Balenciaga).

Numerous heads of companies were also invited, including Bernard Arnault (LVMH), Xavier Niel (Free), Patrick Pouyanné (Total Energies) or Carlos Tavares (Stellantis).

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Jean Nouvel and his wife, Lida Guan, were also invited, as well as the former Minister of Culture Jack Lang.

Director Luc Besson arrived on the red carpet at the Élysée at this state dinner.

Members of the Government attended the dinner, including the delegate minister in charge of Foreign Affairs Franck Riester or the Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire.

Emmanuel Macron is celebrating 60 years of bilateral relations together with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, who arrived in Paris on Sunday. A formal welcoming ceremony took place on Monday at the Invalides, with a military band.

The two heads of state exchanged gifts. Emmanuel Macron offered his Chinese counterpart cognac and thanked him for not imposing “temporary” customs duties on French cognac, targeted by an anti-dumping investigation launched by the Chinese authorities. Emmanuel Macron called for “fair” trade rules.

The European Union (EU) “will not hesitate to take firm decisions” to “protect its economy and security”, stressed the President of the European Commission (EC), Ursula Von der Leyen, following a summit with the two presidents.

The two presidents took part in a tête-à-tête political meeting on Monday evening, at the Élysée Palace, and are due to meet on Tuesday, together with their wives, in the Pyrenees Mountains.

Publisher: GM