Macron to dine with ex-Spanish king, Vargas Llosa: writer’s son

France’s President Emmanuel Macron will on Friday dine with Spain’s former king Juan Carlos I and Peruvian Nobel-winning author Mario Vargas Llosa, the writer’s son said.

The 86-year-old novelist, who also has Spanish citizenship, controversially invited the ex-monarch to his inauguration ceremony into the fabled Academie Francaise on Thursday in Paris, and Juan Carlos turned up.

Juan Carlos first became king in 1975, overseeing Spain’s transition to democracy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco.

But he has lived in self-imposed exile since 2020 in the United Arab Emirates after a series of scandals, including claims he harassed a former mistress, as well as revelations about his lavish lifestyle and an elephant hunt in Botswana.

Alvaro Vargas Llosa, the novelist’s son, on Thursday posted a picture on Twitter of his father, the former king and the monarch’s daughter Cristina, praising the king’s role in overseeing Spain’s transition to a “liberal European democracy”.

“Macron, who invited both of them to supper tomorrow along with (Spanish writer) Javier Cercas, also recognises this,” he wrote.

It was not immediately clear where the dinner was to take place.

Cercas recently interviewed Macron for Spanish newspaper El Pais.

Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014 in favour of his son, has made several public appearances recently, including for the funerals of Britain’s Elizabeth II and Greece’s Constantine II.

Vargas Llosa, considered to be one of the most influential Latin American writers, is the first author to become a member of the Academie Francaise despite never having written a book in French.

The writer has stirred controversy in Latin America with his pro-capitalist views, often criticising the many socialist governments across the region.