Former Senate leader Gérard Larcher, and a lesson on how to listen to a political debate - asleep

Bored by politics?

Fed up with the centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) trying to justify their past five years in power (well actually more like 10 if the governments of the previous president Jacques Chirac are included with prime ministers Jean-Pierre Raffarin 2002-2005 and Dominique de Villepin 2005-2007. Funny how little mention is made of that) admitting to some errors but basically blaming the global economy, immigrants, or the 35-hour working week (among other things) for the country's woes.

Whoa, a sentence without end...spot the influence of French.

Gérard Larcher (screenshot from Des paroles et des actes)

Or the Socialist party accusing the UMP of rightwing tendencies, pandering to a potential far-right Front National electorate and forgetting that running a country isn't the same as running a business; government has a social responsibility too.

Well guess what. You're probably not alone.

Even politicians - well some of them at least - would appear to have had their fill.

Take a look at this clip from Thursday's edition of the excellent Des paroles et des actes on France 2 television.

The prime minister François Fillon was going jaw-to-jaw with the leader of the Socialist party, Martine Aubry.

It was of course, "Yadda, yadda, yadda this" and "Blah, blah, blah, that" as the pair failed to listen to one another, agree on common ground or solutions to problems that were naturally not of their making.

A jolly good time was had by one and all: at home in front of the small screen and in the audience.

But wait a mo'.

Who's that, thankfully not in the front row, but still captured briefly by the cameras at 23 seconds appearing to catch a few moments shut eye.

Could it be?

Surely not!

Yes it is.

None other than Gérard Larcher a high-ranking UMP politician and until October 2011 the president of the Senate.

Oops.

Bored? Tired? Dozing? Texting? Consulting notes?

Whatever the case, he couldn't have been paying attention. Or could he?

Zzzzzzzzz.


http://dai.ly/wtoPM3


Gérard Larcher s'endort dans le public de "Des... par puremedias