French parliament debates allowing some university subjects to be taught in English.

...and of course some academics get their proverbials in a twist

"Teaching in English - Let's do it" was the front page headline in Tuesday's edition of Libération, making it clear where the national daily stands on government plans to relax the law which prevents English from being used as a language to teach subjects (other than English of course) at French universities.

In fact the paper went further - its entire front cover was in English.

Libération front cover

The parliamentary debate opens today - and although the government is in favour, it's up against the usual head-in-the sand opposition from some academics.

Speaking on Tuesday's edition of La Matinale on Canal + the minister for higher education and research, Geneviève Fioraso, said a change in the 1994 law which currently prevents English being used to teach subjects at universities would attract foreign students and be of benefit to French students.

"It's a move which makes sense and in no way threatens the values or culture of the French language," she said.

"And it seems ridiculous to me that a blind eye is turned when it comes to les grandes écoles, which have ignored the law and taught subjects in English, while the rest of the country's universities have been prevented from doing so," she continued.

"It's a matter of making certain the law meets the needs of the country."

Geneviève Fioraso (screenshot from Canal + La Matinale)

Fioraso has the backing of some of France's leading academics - including a couple of Nobel prize winners - who wrote and signed an open letter in Le Monde supporting the idea.

But of course there are also those horrified at the thought that the proposal will "marginalise the French language" or worse! 

One of France's most distinguished (French) linguists, Claude Hagège, writing in Le Monde called the proposal "suicide" and "an act of sabotage" of the French language.

While Bernard Pivot, a leading literary figure in France, told Le Croix in an interview of the dangers of French becoming "banal, or worse, a dead language."

Er. M Pivot et al.

In the words of that modern French-speaking cultural icon, Nabilla, "Non mais 'allô quoi!"

La Matinale du 21/05 - Interview de Geneviève Fioraso

French politicians shine at passing the buck over Paris football riots

If you've been following the news this week, then you've probably seen the "celebrations that turned sour" when violence broke out on the streets of Paris as the city's football team Paris-Saint-Germain and its fans marked the club's first league title in 19 years.

The contrast couldn't have been greater to similar parades organised in England and Spain for their championship-winning teams Manchester United and Barcelona.

And although not all was apparently as calm in Manchester as perhaps the French media portrayed it, the scenes were nothing to match those that occurred in Paris.

It was well documented because so many French media outlets had teams "on the ground" reporting "en direct" almost as though they were willing, or at least expecting, something to happen.

And as we all know, it did.



But while the French media was pretty thorough in covering the whole debacle as it happened, it hasn't had as much success persuading the country's politicians to take their part of the blame for what happened.

Manuel Valls (screenshot from TF1 news)

The interior minister, Manuel Valls, appeared on radio and television, "condemning the violence" (well, he's hardly going to praise it now, is he?) and saying it showed that football, and in particular in the capital, was "ill".

And when asked by the mild-mannered and inoffensive anchor Gilles Bouleau on Tuesday's edition of TF1's evening news whether he, as minister in charge of the "forces of law and order" was willing to take his share of the responsibility for what had happened just as Frédéric Thiriez, the president of the French league Frédéric Thiriez had done, Valls delivered a sermon befitting of a politician eager to pass the buck.

"There were enough police present," he insisted, refusing to accept any blame even though viewers had just seen footage of riot police abandoning their positions when some of the worst scenes of violence broke out and deciding not to intervene when a coach carrying tourists was attacked.

"It was a minority of vandals intent on causing trouble who set others off," he maintained.

"There's violence in our society and there were those present who didn't just want to spoil the celebrations. They were there to fight, to steal and to vandalise."



Faced with a politician "singing" from such a well-prepared hymn sheet, Bouleau clearly had no chance of gaining even the slightest admission of accountability.

Mind you, the team on "La Matinale" on Canal + fared no better the following morning with the sports minister Valérie Fourneyron, even though collectively they were certainly more pugnacious in their questioning - or at least they tried to be.

Fourneyron refused point blank to respond directly to sports journalist Sylvère-Henry Cissé when he said it was hard to believe that "nobody could have anticipated trouble" (and thereby implying politicians had some part to play in what happened) given the number of pre-celebration preparations that had taken place.

"Those responsible for what happened were the vandals themselves who transformed the celebrations into a riot," she said, trotting out exactly the same "explanation" as Valls had done the previous evening and talking over Cissé's attempts to get her admit at least partial responsibility.

Instead Fourneyron preferred to repeat (from nine minutes and 24 seconds in the video below) that the "celebrations had been spoilt" and the penalties for those who had been arrested would have to be harsh.

Yes, it really was just like watching and hearing Valls II.

As the show's host Ariane Massenet summed it up, for Fourneyron (and by extension Valls and the government) what had happened was solely the fault of those vandals who had caused the violence. End of story.

La Matinale du 15/05 - Partie 1

Rachida Dati hits out at François Fillon - surprise, surprise

The former justice minister Rachida Dati has never exactly been best buddies with the now ex-prime minister François Fillon.

In fact it probably wouldn't be too far off the mark to say they share a mutual dislike for each other - and they aren't afraid to show it.

So Dati's attack on her former boss over his statement that after the defeat (and apparent departure from political life) of Nicolas Sarkozy there was no natural leader in their centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) party hardly comes as a surprise.

Rachida Dati (screenshot BFMTV-RMC radio)

Fillon's comment was without doubt a salvo fired in the direction of the party's secretary general Jean-François Copé and a means for him to set himself up as a potential successor.

But it was too much for Dati who, not mincing her words, was more than willing to give her take on what he had said when she interviewed by Jean-Jacques Bourdin.

"Unpleasant", "disloyal", "ungrateful" and "bad-mannered" were just a few of the choice terms she used to describe Fillon's statement.

"He (François Fillon) appears to be a little ungrateful vis-à-vis Nicolas Sarkozy who made him what he is today," she said.

"I don't think it's very chic (an attribute which is of course very important to Dati - in all senses of the word)," she continued.

"We tell our children to be well mannered and to get a good eduction. This is simply rude in relation to Nicolas Sarkozy. He's not dead is he?"



Of course this isn't the first time the two have locked political horns - so to speak.

Even though she has thrown in the towel after the UMP parachuted in Fillon to stand for a safe for Parisian seat (and one she coveted) in the upcoming National Assembly elections, Dati is clearly still smarting.

And this is a woman who, love her or loathe her, you just can't and probably shouldn't ignore.

There's denying that she knows how to make and impact - and not necessarily for the right reasons.

During her time as justice minister she came in from opposition criticism for her inability to handle her portfolio and the reports of her ministry haemorrhaging staff were seen as an indication of a woman who was difficult to work with.

Glossy magazines had a field day, regularly featuring photographs of an elegant and stylish Dati only too happy to pose for the camera and of course the weekly satirical magazine Le Canard enchaîné was unrelenting in lampooning her.

The polemic (good word that - the French love it) surrounding her return to work just days after giving birth to a baby whose paternity of course was the subject of endless speculation.

Even when she was fired - whoops sorry, left the government to take up her seat in the European parliament in 2009, she didn't quite disappear from the domestic political scene especially as she had been elected mayor of the seventh arrondissement of Paris in 2008,.

From apparent exile in Brussels and Strasbourg  Dati has continued to make to make a splash, appearing on an M6 "fly on the wall" documentary in which she was less than complimentary about her new job.

She has popped up regularly on television - be it to explain the economics behind "fellation"  or later throwing a  "dildo" into a discussion on French secularism.

Both were bloopers of course, which she was able to smile about after the videos went viral and put down to the speed at which she speaks.

Always an ardent supporter of Nicolas Sarkozy, Dati was a brought back from duty in Brussels to accompany him during part of his campaigning, adding her own personal fashion statement late in the day by appearing on the early morning news magazine La Matinale on Canal + sporting a sweater with a design emblazoned on the back which to all the world (except Dati) looked to be that of a giant cannabis plant leaf.

Ah yes.

In what is likely to become a struggle for control of the party (after the elections), Dati knows exactly how to position herself and make the most of her undoubted media-friendly talent - albeit sometimes to her cost.

Expect more fun and games to follow.

Rachida Dati's post election cannabis fashion faux pas

So the first round in the presidential elections is over with French voters unsurprisingly choosing the Socialist Party's François Hollande to go head-to-head with the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy on May 6

The media is now in post first round overdrive with analysis and interpretation of Sunday's results and speculation over the outcome in a fortnight's time.

As such, one of the invited guests on Monday morning's edition of La Matinale on Canal + was none other than Rachida Dati.

Rachida Dati (screenshot from Canal + La Matinale)

You remember her - the woman brought in to Sarkozy's government as justice minister at a time when diversity - both ethnic and gender - was his buzzword, and then when the honeymoon was long over, dispatched to the country's version of sending someone to Coventry (apologies to that UK city, but it is an expression) and made to stand in the European elections.

Having "served her time" without creating too much of a media stir in France, Dati was brought back into the fold as Sarkozy's official campaigning got underway.

And in spite of herself perhaps she has been something of a non-contraversial star in so far as she didn't draw too much attention to herself for off-the-cuff and misplaced remarks.

Well, let's face it, Sarkozy had Nadine Morano for that.

But the day after the night before - and things look to have gone a little wrong for Dati - at least in the vestimentary department.

On Monday she appeared on La Matinale, the breakfast show on Canal +, to put the inevitable positive spin on Sunday's results.

And as she was talking, answering questions put to her by journalist Caroline Roux, the camera kept showing her from the back.

Why?

Well emblazoned on the back of her top was a pattern which looked for all the world to be that of a giant cannabis plant leaf.

(screenshot from Canal + La Matinale)

La Matinale's presenter, Maïtena Biraben, couldn't resist asking Dati about it at the end of the interview and the least that can be said is that the former justice minister floundered.

"There have been several messages on our Facebook page wondering whether your top is smoking," said Biraben to a non-plussed Dati.

"So what is the design on the back of your top - Cannabis?"

Looking rather uncomfortable and probably realising how this could play out later in the day, Dati denied that it was a cannabis plant leaf.

"Hemp?" suggested Biraben with a smile.

"No, not that either," replied Dati. "It's something else."

"Eucalyptus," said Biraben in a pretend Euruka! moment.

"Exactly," affirmed Dati, followed by some insincere laughter.

"But you can smoke eucalyptus too," chirped Biraben

"Yes...er...no, perhaps but eucalyptus makes you calmer," was Dati's final response...er - this obviously wasn't going the way she had planned.

La Matinale du 23/04 - Partie 1

Neither Biraben nor the viewers were prepared to leave it there though and later in the programme the production team provided a picture of a cannabis plant leaf side by side to one of the pattern on the back of Dati's top.

Rachida Dati (screenshot from Canal + La Matinale)

Draw your own conclusions but as one viewer wrote, "If it's not cannabis, what have I been smoking for the past 20 years?"

Maïtena Biraben's absurd parody tribute to Queen Elizabeth's 60th anniversary

It was an entry and a half for the presenter of Monday morning's edition of the Canal + breakfast programme "La Matinale".

To mark the 60th anniversary of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne, La Matinale's presenter, Maïtena Biraben, began the programme disguised as...well who else really?

Maïtena Biraben as Queen Elizabeth II (screenshot from La Matinale)

Dressed from head to toe in what was presumably meant to be a regal version of Barbie pink and donning a ridiculous wig, Biraben got the programme underway to the strains of the 1977 hit "God save the Queen" by the English punk band the Sex Pistols.

An indication surely that just in case viewers were having a hard time realising the whole thing was a parody, the "fun" had to be underscored with a dated song that "attacked Britons' social conformity and deference to the Crown".

Ha ha.

If you're telling a joke and nobody's laughing, try repeating it.

That's bound to raise a smile heh?

Morandini Zap: Maïtena Biraben arrive sur le plateau de "La Matinale" déguisée en Elizabeth II Vidéo jeanmarcmorandini sélectionnée dans Replay TV

Thankfully the remainder of, what is usually, an excellent way to begin the day, had a more conventional approach to reporting and presenting, including a special on the anniversary, an interview and a look at the relationship the British apparently have with their head of state.

Biraben quickly "lost" the absurd garb although it some of it managed to find its way on to fellow journalist Léon Mercadet towards the end of the programme.

Funny?

Well, mildly so perhaps, although it's not hard to imagine that if the Queen had seen it (not exactly likely it has to be admitted) she might well have quoted one of her antecedents to the throne, Victoria, with a cutting, "We are not amused".

Warning.

Biraben ended Tuesday's edition of La Matinale with a hint that viewers should expect something "special" the following day to mark the release in France of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D.

Oh yes.

After Biraben as Queen Elizabeth II comes Darth Vader perhaps?

Nadine Morano's Renaud-Renault howler - the song

You kind of knew it was going to happen.

It's barely a week since Nadine Morano, the minister in charge of apprenticeships and professional training, made a complete fool of herself during an interview on an early morning television programme.

Nadine Morano and Caroline Roux (screenshot La Matinale Canal +)

Her classic confusion of "Renaud", a French singer-songwriter with a distinctive "broken voice", with "Renault", the car manufacturer at the centre of the non-existent industrial espionage story, became an instant Internet hit and the object of plenty of ridicule.

Now though, an Internaut has come to her rescue - sort of.

Jérôme Niel aka La Ferme Jérôme (screenshot from video)

Jérôme Niel has written a song whose title uses the exact words in the question that so confused Morano, "Tous coupables sauf Carlos Ghosn" and performing it as - who else - but Renaud.

Just to refresh your memory, Morano was asked what she thought of the case of Renault in which everyone seemed to be guilty except its CEO Carlos Ghosn.

"J'aime, j'aime pas 'Tous coupables sauf Carlos Ghosn'," was what Morano was asked on an edition last week of La Matinale on Canal +.

And those words, as far as Niel were concerned, were at the nub of the minister's befuddlement.

"I watched the mistake Nadine Morano made and if you listen to the way the journalist (Caroline Roux) poses the question you can hear that it sounds like the title of a song 'Tous coupable sauf Carlos Ghosn'," he said.

"I thought why not simply use that as a starting point and I put it online and it has aroused a great deal of interest both on the Net and among the media."

Looking - sort of - and sounding - more so - like Renaud, Niel lets Morano of the hook in a manner of speaking, because her blunder is no longer as silly as it seemed!

Well that's if you can get over the fact of a politician being so ill-informed on what was the major domestic news story of the day.



Of course it's all a spoof and not the first time the web humorist has composed and performed such a parody.

There's more, much more on his blog La Ferme Jérôme and his Facebook page

No reaction from Morano herself yet - which is probably the best approach.

Nadine Morano's Renaud-Renault howler

Oh how we all love it when politicians make a complete ass of themselves.

It somehow makes them appear normal, vulnerable and heck - even renders them likeable.

Such was the case of Nadine Morano, the minister in charge of apprenticeships and professional training, when she appeared on Tuesday morning's edition of La Matinale on Canal +.

The penny drops for Nadine Morano (left) while Caroline Roux (right) can't quite believe her ears (screenshot from La Matinale on Canal +)

She was invited on to the programme to be interviewed by its political correspondent, Caroline Roux, in a segment that lasts around seven minutes.

And it was at the end of being asked how the governing centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) was going to be able to put its house in order and avoid splitting that Morano made what was, even by her own admission, something of a howler.

Before reading any further you'll need to know a couple of things as background.

First of all there's Renault - as in the French car manufacturer which has been in the news over the past couple of months over the non-existent industrial espionage story.

It has all been rather a mess and an embarrassment, seeing three employees wrongly accused and this week forcing the resignation of some of its top managers.

Those resignations were one of the top domestic stories of the day. Remember that.

One person who has survived though is it's CEO - Carlos Ghosn. Remember that too.

Then there's Renaud - a singer-songwriter with a distinctive "broken voice" and some of whose songs have become popular classic in France. Here's one of his most famous ones, "Mistral gagnant"

Renault - Renaud: different spelling, same pronunciation.

For anyone one "not in the know" or who hadn't been reading the newspapers, turned on the radio or watched the telly it might be easy to confuse the two when asked a current affairs question.

But for a politician?

Here's what happened.

Roux had finished interviewing Morano and turned to the traditional round of quick-fire questions "J'aime, j'aime pas" (I like, I don't like) - a moment when she asks a guest their reaction to a major news story along the lines of "Do you like or don't you like....the role of France in the downfall of Laurent Gbagbo?" for example.

Actually that was one of the questions that proceeded Morano's "mistake".

"I like or I don't like - Renault - everyone is guilty except Carlos Ghosn?" asked Roux.

There was a moment's hesitation (presumably to collect her "thought" before Morano replied, "I like some of Renaud's songs," followed by a pause and accompanied by a growing look of incredulity from Roux.

"Not all of them," Morano continued.

"But I haven't heard that one. So I can't say whether or not I like it."

Roux, ever the professional and still not quite convinced that she has really heard what was just said then kindly but politely reminds Morano that "Everyone is guilty except Carlos Ghosn" isn't a song by Renaud.

"What is it?" asks Morano

"It's Renault which is settling scores in the case of industrial espionage," responds Roux.

Morano realises her "big mistake" as she describes it, and finally - after making excuses for her gaffe - answers the proper question.

But who cares? She had already provided the programme, viewers and Internauts of course, with more than enough merriment and proof that, once again, government ministers really have their fingers on the pulse of what's happening.

Ahem!


nadine morano et renaud francais 380268 mov hd par kiSScOOl1988

Tears for the death of Annie Girardot

We're used to scenes of television presenters fluffing their lines or unable to hold back a fit of the giggles for one reason or another.

But it's surely unusual to see one so visibly moved that they're close to tears.

That's exactly what happened during Tuesday morning's edition of the Canal + breakfast programme "La Matinale".

The show's presenter, Maïtena Biraben, had difficulty controlling her emotions, as did fellow journalist Léon Mercadet.

And the reason was quite simple; their reaction to a short montage paying tribute to one of France's most enduring and acclaimed actresses, Annie Girardot, who died on Monday at the age of 79.

Annie Giradot - acceptance speech during Césars in 1996 (screenshot from YouTube video)

Annie Girardot may not be a name with which many people outside of France are that familiar - especially if you're not a lover of this country's cinema.

But she was a giant of the French film industry during the 1960s and 70s, and had a career that began as an accomplished theatre actress, spanned five decades and included more than 120 films for the big screen and over 50 for television.

Girardot starred in six films directed by Claude Lelouch who compared her to Edith Piaf, saying she was the stage "equivalent" of the French singing legend.

Her long career saw her win three Césars - the French equivalent of the Oscars.

In 1977 she picked up the best actress award for the title role in Jean-Louis Bertucelli's "Docteur Françoise Gailland".

And Girardot twice won best supporting actress; in 1996 for the part of Madame Thénardier in Claude Lelouch's "Les Misérables" and again in 2002 when she played Isabelle Huppert's mother in Michael Haneke's "La Pianiste" (Die Klavierspielerin).

Her acceptance speech at the 1996 awards was a "declaration of love" for the French film industry from which she had been sidelined for several years, and it was one that couldn't fail to touch the hearts of those in the audience and viewers at home.

"I don't know if the French cinema missed me," she said.

"But I missed the French cinema...so much."



In 2006 Girardot went public with the news that she was suffering from Alzheimer's and became something of a symbol of the illness here in France especially after the screening in 2008 of Nicolas Baulieu's "Ainsi va la vie".

It was a documentary which managed to bring home the full force of Alzheimer's while remaining a mostly dignified, tender, loving homage to the star.

Baulieu followed the actress and her family until filming stopped in February 2007 when he said that Girardot was no longer aware of the presence of the cameras.

Among the many, many tributes that have been paid to Girardot since the news of her death was announced is that of France's minister of culture, Frédéric Mitterrand.

"She lit the stage as she lit life: with a humanity and a dramatic depth that touched everyone," he wrote.

"Her death is a painful moment for French cinema, which has lost one of its biggest stars, but also for the public, with whom she had a long and affectionate relationship."

Little wonder perhaps then, that both Biraben and Mercadet had trouble holding back their tears on Tuesday morning - and they probably weren't alone.

Domenech refuses to shake hands with Parreira

It was surely the final humiliation in France's catastrophic World Cup campaign.

The sight of the manager, Raymond Domenech, not only refusing to shake hands with Carlos Alberto Parreira at the end of the match which had seen South Africa beat France 2-1, but also his arrogant behaviour in front of journalists from around the world at the press conference afterwards.

Raymond Domenech refuses to shake hands with Carlos Alberto Parreira (screenshot Canal +)

When one journalist asked him why he hadn't shaken hands with Parreira and whether he had been ashamed at the behaviour of his players during the tournament, Domenech said he had understood but had already answered the question.

"I don't have the intention of replying," he replied. "Is there another question?"

There was that audible silence in the room (apart from the sound of those omnipresent vuvuzelas in the background), the sort you would probably expect from those clearly nonplussed by the response.

But it didn't stop another journalist trying a slightly different approach.

"Sorry, it os the same question," he said.

"Why is it you don't want to answer why you didn't shake the hand of Mr Parreira?" he asked.

To which Domenech in all his glorious arrogance replied, "Is there another question?"

You can see the exchange here at 39:32 in the second segment of the morning news magazine La Matinale on Canal +.

Over the past week there has of course been much talk in the domestic and international media about the lack of respect shown by the French players towards fans, especially in light of their refusal to train last weekend, and the failure of the French Football Federation to put its house in order and sending home striker Nicolas Anelka for allegedly verbally insulting Domenech at halftime during a 2-0 defeat to Mexico last Thursday.

But should any of us really be surprised when the man at the helm proves himself to be equally lacking in humility and manners

By the way, the likely explanation for Domenech's refusal to shake hands was his displeasure over Parreira's remark after the World Cup draw last year when he said that France owed their qualification to that infamous play-off goal created by Thierry Henry’s handball.

Henri Proglio's two-salary U-turn

The recently-confirmed new boss of the French utility giant, Electricité de France (EDF), has agreed to relinquish his rights to claim a second salary with his old company, the multinational Veolia, where he remains chairman of the board.

While his decision has effectively put an end to the debate over the salary controversy, there's now a new confab over a conflict of interests and whether he should be doing two jobs: one at the mainly (almost 85 per cent) state-owned company EDF and the other at the privatised Veolia.

And to many, the French government would appear to be sending out mixed messages as to where exactly it stands on the issue.

You might remember the story out of France last week about this country's government saying that Proglio, who was confirmed as the boss of EDF on Wednesday, would in fact be entitled to two salaries rather than one.

In short he would get €1.6 a year for his new job and retain a paid position of €450,000 a year at Veolia, the company where he was to remain chairman of the board.

The government appeared to be backtracking on its previous promise not to support a double-salary with among others both the finance minister, Christine Lagarde, and the minister of the budget, Eric Woerth, "explaining" why the decision was now justified.

Hardly the most credible of positions for Lagarde, who had promised back in November when Proglio was nominated for the job that there was "no question of overlapping of remuneration and therefore he would receive a single salary."

Pragmatic politics at its best perhaps from the finance minister.

A day after his confirmation, Proglio made things much easier for Lagarde (and the rest of the government) by "choosing" to give up on the smaller of the two salaries, although there was plenty of conjecture that Nicolas Sarkozy, had put pressure on the man who had supported him in his successful bid to become president in 2007.

So the end of the story - not.

Because of course it's one that won't go away and which over the weekend took on another dimension with calls from opposition party leaders for Proglio to cut completely all ties with Veolia.

Among them was François Bayrou, the leader of the centre party Mouvement démocrate (Democratic Movement, MoDem).

"When you're the boss of a public company, you should keep in mind the interests of the public," he said on national radio.

"And when you head up a very large private company you have to defend the interests of the shareholders," he continued.

"This creates a dual allegiance that is unbearable, and which is a complete contradiction to everything we have done in France for decades."

And what do you know, the French government also seemed to be preparing the ground to make it easier for Proglio to give up all links with Veolia with both Lagarde and Woerth returning to their original positions - sort of.

"It's not a situation that should last forever," said Lagarde on Sunday.

"He (Proglio) recognised that when he appeared before (parliamentary) commissions," she added.

A sentiment echoed by Woerth who also maintained that holding two jobs couldn't be a long-term solution.

"When you're in a business which has international contracts, it requires keeping in constant contacts with clients, and not having to time to do other things," he said.

"For me it's a temporary situation," he added.

All of which could make it easier as far as Marie-George Buffet; the leader of the Parti communiste français (French Communist Party, PCF), is concerned for Sarkozy to appear to "save the day" so-to-speak and make the announcement, should he so wish, that the boss of EDF will no longer have a role in Veolia.

The French president is due to appear on prime time television on Monday evening for an extensive interview and to answer questions from selected viewers - an ideal chance for him to express his thoughts on the matter, according to Buffet.

"It's entirely possible that he will make such an announcement because we've already seen how many times both Christine Lagarde and now Eric Woerth have changed their minds," she said on the Canal + news magazine La Matinale on Monday morning.

"And who's to say that Sarkozy won't suddenly 'discover' that it's completely scandalous that Proglio had a double salary and a double responsibility," she added.