French sports minister Valérie Fourneyron's latest sporting gaffe

The French sports minister, Valérie Fourneyron, has proven herself once again to be a true expert in her governmental portfolio.

Valérie Fourneyron (screenshot Public Sénat TV)

 Now you would think she might have learned her lesson from her Olympic gaffe last year.

Remember how Fourneyron appeared on (French) television during the games in London to outline the vast range of events from which there were to choose as she "entertained" this country's president, François Hollande, during his visit?

So "on the ball" (to use an inappropriate sporting chliché) was Fourneyron that she managed to muddle fencer Laura Flessel-Colovic's discipline...deciding she could best be seen on the tatami.

An easy mistake to make as Flessel-Colovic had previously only won five Olympic and 12 World Championship medals and, in London, was France's official flag bearer at the opening ceremony.

Well, the woman with a background in sports medicine, and therefore clearly with her finger on the proverbial pulse of her governmental portfolio, chose at the weekend "to boldly go" (let's split the infinitive in time-honoured Star Trek tradition) where no right-thinking minister should choose to go - Twitter.

Yes, Fourneyron plumped for social networking to congratulate France's only gold medallist at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, triple jumper Teddy Tamgho.



The only problem was that emotions clearly got the better of the minister as she tweeted her excitement.



"Thierry Tamgho won the first gold medal at the Athletics World Championships," she tweeted.

"A breathtaking performance."

Teddy Tamgho, World Championship triple jump gold medallist, Moscow 2013 (screenshot France Télevisions)

Er "Non, mais allô quoi" to quote that great French ("celebrity") commentator of our times, Nabilla Benattia.

Thierry Tamgho?

Who's that then, Teddy's twin brother.

Teddy Tamgho, World Championship triple jump gold medallist, Moscow 2013 (screenshot France Télevisions)

Fourneyron realised her lapsus...er clavis...but not in time to prevent a flurry of Tweets poking fun at her mistake.

Now what gems could Fourneyron have in store for us next year should France qualify for the World Cup (soccer this time) in Brazil? That's if she's still in the post of course.

France's sports minister, Valérie Fourneyron makes an Olympic gaffe

Oh happy days.

Finally a minister has shown that she's every bit as "normal" as her predecessors from the previous government by proving that she too can come up with the appropriate howler when needed.

It's the sports minister Valérie Fourneyron, whose portfolio has known some of the very best - or worst, depending on how you view these things - slip ups from those clearly not at ease in the job such as the pink croc-wearing Roselyne Bachelot and her much-loved (although not by Bachelot) sidekick Rama Yade to the former judoka and expert neologist David Douillet.

Valérie Fourneyron (screenshot France 2 television)

And that's quite a decent segue into how Fourneyron made a complete ass of herself in front of millions of TV viewers early Monday morning.

She was appearing on France 2 television outlining what the programme would be for her and her big boss, the French president François Hollande, who would be joining her for the day at the London 2012 games.

"We'll want to be able to see all sorts of different sports," she said, no doubt surprising viewers that the Olympics provided such an opportunity.

"It could be boxing or it could be judo to see Laura Flessel, our country's flag bearer at the opening ceremony who'll be appearing in her fifth games," she continued.

"Perhaps we'll get a chance to see the French women's basketball team in action, a handball game, boxing (do you think she maybe has a thing about boxing?)...it'll be a programme full of sport," she finished with a flourish.

Er.

Wait a moment.

Do you spot the error.

Just a teensy-weensy one mind you.

Laura Flessel, a double gold medallist in Atlanta back in 1996, who also competed in Sydney, Athens and Beijing collecting a further three medals along the way, now 40 years old and appearing at her fifth and final Olympics as Fourneyron correctly said.

Except Flessel is not a judoka.

Nope. The sport for which Flessel, the spokesperson for the French team during London 2O12, the five-time Olympic medallist and 12-time World Championship medallist, is famous is... fencing.

Oh well. How was Fourneyron, whose background is rich in sports medicine, supposed to know.

It's such a simple mistake to make after all and one which the minister put down later to, "An early morning slip of the tongue."

"I know Laura Flessel well. I spent a good part of the Friday with her," she said.

Presumably grappling on the tatami.

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