Xavier Bertrand's slip of the tongue "in defence" of Fat Cat salaries

Ah what would the world be without the occasional political gaffe?

The previous centre-right led Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) government was full of ministers capable of delivering a howler or two.

Former justice minister Rachida Dati proved herself to be adept at unintentional sexual references when speaking of "oral sex" ("fellation") rather than "inflation" during an interview on foreign investment funds.

Her slip up made the subject so much more...er...interesting.

And on another occasion she managed to introduce "dildo" ("gode") rather than "code" (of conduct) into an interview about  laicity and Islam.

Dati wasn't alone of course. There was also Frédéric Lefebvre the (wait for it) junior minister for trade, small and medium enterprises, tourism, services, liberal professions and consumption (where was the kitchen sink?) who showed his literary prowess when asked which classic French work had made the biggest impact on him.

Sadly Lefebvre came up with the ready-to-wear clothes company "Zadig ET Voltaire" rather than "Zadig BY Voltaire.

And let's not forget Nadine Morano (who could?) when...well, she said just about anything that came into her mind or struck her fancy but perhaps the most memorable was  confusing "Renaud" the singer and "Renault" the car manufacturer.

Mary Hopkins time:

                        "Those were the days my friend,
                        We thought they'd never end."

The new government hasn't quite got into its stride yet, but that doesn't matter.

The new opposition - or the former government if you like - is proving itself to be well up to the job of maintaining a strangehold on the art of delivering a lapsus linguae.

More on than in a moment.

First some background.

The recently-elected French president, François Hollande, is on something of an exemplary cost-cutting exercise.

One of his first decisions was to reduce ministers' pay by around a third.

It was a campaign promise and one he "made good on" as soon as the new 34-strong government was named.

Next up is the pledge to cap the salaries given to the big cheeses of companies which are state-controlled or, in the case of nuclear power plant builder Areva or utility giant EDF, it still has a majority stake.

The government is apparently still working out the fine print but is expected to announce in mid-June that top company executives' pay will be limited to 20 times that of the lowest paid worker.

An end, in part, to the so-called fat cat syndrome in companies such as EDF (84 state-owned) where CEO Henri Proglio reportedly earned a miserly €1.6 million in 2011.

Of course some might try to argue that setting a "maximum salary" will make it difficult for state-owned companies to attract top talent and it'll be nigh on impossible to impose on the private sector.

But few could argue against the injustice that exists between some top earners and those at the opposite end of the scale.

Well that's unless you happen to be a Xavier Bertrand, the former minister for labour, social affairs and solidarity in the last government under prime minister François Fillon.

Xavier Bertrand (screenshot Europe 1 interview)

Bertrand was the invited guest on Europe 1 radio on Thursday morning and perhaps revealed a little more than he intended - albeit by means of a slip-of-the-tongue - about the thinking behind the previous government's attitude.

"I've always been in favour of excessive salaries (for top executives) " he told journalist Jean-Pierre Elkabbach.

"I said as much when I was a member of the previous government and I'm not going to change my mind now."

Elkabbach, seasoned journalist that he is, interrupted just to make sure he had heard correctly and in so doing allowed Bertrand to correct his mistake.

"Always in favour of excessive salaries?" questioned Elkabbach.

"Ah certainly not," replied Bertrand calmly, realising his error.

"I've always been in favour of limiting excesses (of payment)," he said.

"Whether it's in a period of crisis or not, it's always necessary to set a good example."

Ah, it's so good to hear and see that some things about the UMP haven't changed.

Rachida Dati's "dildo" code of practice

Trust Rachida Dati.

The former French justice minister and now European parliamentarian has once again proven herself to be adept at unintentional sexual innuendo.

Rachida Dati (screenshot of interview clip on LCI)

Few will forget her "fellatio - inflation" slip of the tongue during a televised interview last September when talking about foreign investment funds.


The clip soon became an Internet hit and even Dati managed to see the funny side, admitting at the time that she had been talking too quickly.

Now though she has given television viewers and Internauts alike another reason to smile by inadvertently slipping in the word "dildo" during an interview.

It came over a week ago on April 1 (how appropriate you might be thinking) as Dati was a guest on Christophe Barbier's programme on the all-news channel LCI.

Up for discussion were laicity and Islam, with Dati in full flow as Barbier asked her about France's "code de la laïcité" or "code of secularism" and whether she thought it was useful.

Dati replied that it laid down a "code of practice" and started giving examples of other fields in which similar "sets of written rules explaining how people should behave" also worked.

Except she used the word "code" a little too often and at one point substituted "gode" or "dildo" before instantly correcting herself and continuing.

The slip-up would have probably have remained unnoticed had it not been for sharp-eared Nicolas Domenach, a journalist on Canal +, who happily ran a copy of the clip on Thursday.

You can hear Dati's '"dildo" reference at 14 seconds in a clip which surely - thanks largely to Domenech - has all the right ingredients to go viral.

Rachida Dati sur LCI Vidéo OZAP sélectionnée dans TV/Séries

Of course if Dati, who is undoubtedly a very bright and articulate woman, would just ease down on the speed at which she speaks, these sorts of mistakes might not be made.

But there again, what would the world be like without the occasional misplaced "fellatio" or "dildo"?

Liliane Bettencourt's "golden dildo" - the mystery explained

Yes it's another day in the life of the so-called "Bettencourt affair".

Not the one that has been keeping headlines writers in France busy over the summer with its claims and counterclaims of (amongst other things) tax evasion, political skulduggery, and an inheritance dispute with the country's richest women, Liliane Bettencourt at the heart of matters.

But the apparently more intriguing question as to why the 87-year-old had what appeared to be a "golden dildo" in the study of her home in the Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine.

For those of you who might have missed it, the said "phallus" can be seen in a photograph taken of Madame Bettencourt which accompanies an interview with her for this month's issue of the magazine, Capital.

The heiress to L'Oréal, the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company, and the principal shareholder is captured happily posing for the camera.

Everything seemed as it should be except for the presence of what many took to be a "golden dildo" nonchalantly sitting next to an "I love you" mug on the desk, a feature which quickly became an Internet buzz as the inevitable question was raised as to what it was doing there.



Happily though the "mystery" has been resolved, thanks to the magazine itself, which has responded to the "intense interest" by publishing an explanation on its website.

There were no shenanigans involved, Photoshop was not used and the sculpture really exists and was to be found exactly where it appeared in the shot.

It was, says the magazine which quotes an unnamed former employee as its source, "A present given to Liliane Bettencourt's late husband, André, by a friend and intended as a humorous reference to the couple's 'vigour' in spite of their age."

According to Capital, Madame Bettencourt never actually touched the souvenirs of her late husband but instead "instructed staff to store the item in a cupboard whenever visitors were around."

Somehow on the day of the shoot forgot to do so; in other words an innocent oversight.

So there you have it, the origin of the rather suggestive "statuette" explained, any allusions to what its purpose might otherwise have been, dispelled and the world can now go back to the real drama of the affair which has, in the words of a BBC report, "wafted a whiff of scandal over the government of the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy."

Thank goodness for that!

Liliane Bettencourt and the "golden dildo"

The so-called "Bettencourt affair" has been taking up more than its fair share of column inches and airtime both in France and abroad over the summer.

It's a complicated case by any stretch of the imagination, involving an inheritance dispute between the daughter of France's richest woman and her mother, political intrigue, accusations of corruption, claims of tax evasion - in fact you name it, and it has probably appeared in the headlines at some point over the past couple of months.

Now though, if it were possible, there's a twist in the tale.

It might not have very much to do with any of the above, but it has certainly caught the imagination of many, has brought a somewhat "lighter" touch to the proceedings and has created that all-too-frequently seen Internet buzz.

At the heart of the so-called "affair" of course has been Liliane Bettencourt, France's richest woman and the principal shareholder of L'Oréal, the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company.

Recently the 87-year-old posed for a photograph to accompany an interview with her in an issue of the magazine Capital.



The shot was taken at one of her homes, in the swanky Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine.

The setting is all very "proper" and entirely appropriate it would appear, as Yann Barthes, the presenter of Le Petit Journal, told viewers on Tuesday.

It's a segment of the daily evening magazine Le Grand Journal on Canal + and takes a somewhat irreverent look at what's making the news.

As Barthes explained, at first glance everything appears to be 'normal' in the photograph.

Madame Bettencourt is to be seen standing in front of bookshelves - "a totally normal setting," said Barthes.

"A lamp on the table - normal," he continued.

"And next to the lamp, a mug with the inscription 'I love you' - once again normal."

But then as Barthes and many others have noticed, sitting there next to the mug and clearly visible in the picture is....what can surely only be described in polite terms as a giant golden dildo.

Photoshop or a work of art?

Cybernauts are divided but the Net is a-buzz and it's surely yet another "affair" to be followed.


La bite/gode en or de Mme Bettencourt
envoyé par sebyrollins. - Regardez plus de vidéos comiques.