Wikipédia "Non, mais allô quoi"

Recognise the catchphrase?

The chances are, even if you're not a fan of reality TV, you'll have heard those words in one form or another over recent weeks.

They formed the now infamous moment of "glorious" telly after being uttered by a certain Nabilla Benatillia during an episode of "Les Anges de la télé-réalité" on NRJ12.
Lost already?

Nabilla (screenshot from "Les Anges de la télé-réalité")

Here's the quickest of recaps.

"Les Anges de la télé-réalité" is a reality TV show (surprise, surprise) first launched back in 2011 to "celebrate" a decade of the genre in France.

Whoopee!

It groups together "stars" (a lot of inverted commas going on here) of previous TV reality shows and allows them to pursue their dreams Stateside.

There have been four seasons so far and in the most recent Benatillia, who has found "fame" with just the use of her first name, uttered a phrase that quickly became something of a cult.

Nabilla, who first hit French TV screens in TF1's "L'amour est aveugle" (don't ask, but if you really want to find out more about that programme, click here, it's truly "fascinating") wanted to further her career as a "model".

And while taking giant steps "to become this country's answer to Kim Kardashian" (don't worry if you're not following any of this or aren't familiar with the names. A quick Internet search will reveal all you need to know) Nabilla spoke the words which were soon to create a buzz in France.

Talking about fellow contestants who had apparently forgotten to bring their shampoo with them (!!!), Nabilla said to camera, "Euh, allô! non, mais allô, quoi. T'es une fille et t'as pas de shampooing? Allô. Allô! Je ne sais pas, vous me recevez? T'es une fille et t'as pas de shampooing? C'est comme si je dis: t'es une fille et t'as pas de cheveux!"



Yes.

Well.

Er.

If you've been following the links in the piece so far, you'll have noticed that most of them are to pieces provided by those fine folk at Wikipedia - the English version that is.

And with good reason.

Because the French equivalent has decided Nabilla isn't newsworthy enough and has dropped her page.

Why?

After all, this is the very same Nabilla who put in such a stunning performance on "Le Grand Journal" on Canal + in mid-April.

Nabilla (screenshot "Le Grand Journal" Canal + April 11, 2013)

Her "catchphrase" was repeated and parodied by media "luminaries" such as journalist Audrey Pulvar and presenter Alessandra Sublet.

Heck even IKEA and Carrefour jumped on the bandwagon to use it in commercials.

But all that is apparently not enough for Wikipédia (French spelling) France as its president, Rémi Mathis, explained to (the culture section of) Le Figaro.

Mathis told the newspaper that to determine whether a person's entry was worth maintaining on Wikipédia, a vote was put to the site's most regular contributors and the outcome had been a 66:44 vote in favour of pulling Nabilla's page.

"It avoids the situation whereby Wikipédia simply seems to be 'peddling the buzz of the week'," he explained.

"Like all rules of Wikipédia, the eligibility criteria have been established by the community," he continued.

"Deleting a page is nothing extraordinary and happens several times a day and it can also transpire that an entry that has been removed, returns at a later date once the person has achieved a certain level of notoriety."

So there's hope yet for Nabilla and her legion of fans...because given a little more exposure (she'll be appearing in the fifth season of "Les Anges de la télé-réalité") and a few more choice expressions under her belt, she could make a return to Wikipédia France.

Just as a certain young Canadian singer did back in 2009, when his page was reinstated after being removed for a couple of months.

Ah. The price of fame!

French TV journalists' bloopers - after "François Sarkozy" comes "Nicolas Sortant"

It seems to be catching: the problem French some television journalists have with the names of the two candidates in the second round of the presidential elections.

 Ariane Massenet (screenshot Le Grand Journal, Canal +)

On Monday Ariane Massenet successfully managed to muddle and combine Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande into a not-so-inappropriate compound perhaps of "François Sarkozy".

Appearing on Le Grand Journal on Canal +, Massenet managed the composite presidential candidate not once, but twice.

LE GRAND JOURNAL du 23/04/12 - Part. 2 quelles alliances pour le 2nd tour?

And a couple of days later it was the turn of BFM TV anchor Mathieu Coache to add another dimension to the naming of the candidates.

It came during an afternoon bulletin on the all-news channel as Coache and co-anchor Florence Duprat rounded up the day's campaign trail agenda for the two candidates.

 Mathieu Coache (screenshot BFM TV)

Sarkozy was in the eastern French town of Cernay "exalting the values of France" in the region of Alsace in which, although he had finished top of the pile in the first round just as he had done five years ago, also witnessed a drop in his support (32.92 per cent in 2012 compared with 36.19 per cent in 2007- and massive gains for Marine Le Pen (22.12 per cent in 2012 and 13.56 per cent in 2007).

He might apparently be ruling out any deal with the far-right Front National, but you can probably draw your own conclusions as to what he's up to by insisting that those who voted for Marine Le Pen in the first round "should not be demonised."

Meanwhile Hollande, was taking journalists' questions at a news conference in Paris.

And it was after a clip showing the Socialist party's candidate in action that Coache almost came a cropper with a slip of the tongue that might just have revealed how he thinks the second round is likely to turn out.

"Pendant cette conférence de presse, François Hollande a une nouvelle fois attaqué sans jamais le nommer Nicolas 'sortant'...'Nicolas sortant'- Nicolas Sarkozy - pardon."

Was it just a simple "lapsus linguae" on Coache's part or a matter of wishful thinking combined with presentiment?

Thankfully Duprat was on hand to clarify (as if it were needed) that her colleague had in fact meant to say "candidate sortant".

"Francois Sarkozy" and "Nicolas Sortant".

Of course Massenet might have been thinking of Sarkozy's younger brother who in indeed called François.

But who is Nicolas Sortant?

Are French TV journalists trying to tell the voters something?

Morandini zap : Lapsus "Nicolas sortant" Vidéo jeanmarcmorandini sélectionnée dans Replay TV

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.

Thierry Henry talks - and says nothing

Thierry Henry gives his first interview since France's lacklustre performance both on and off the pitch during the country's short-lived campaign at the World Cup in South Africa.



In a pre-recorded interview broadcast on the early evening news programme Le Grand Journal on Canal +, Henry answered questions about the exclusion of striker Nicolas Anelka, the refusal of the team to train, the feeling within the squad, claims of bullying and his meeting on Thursday with the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy.

If the viewing public and the French as a whole had been hoping for an explanation of what exactly went on within the team, then they were in for a disappointment as Henry remained circumspect throughout the interview.

"The first reason for the 'fiasco' was that the team didn't play well," he said.

"When a side wins anything can happen but when there are setbacks, doubts occur, stories are invented and the rest is history."

Even though pressed on the whether coach Raymond Domenech had really been up to the job, Henry remained loyal saying that Domenech "had been there taking decisions and he had to be respected."

But he also admitted to having felt somewhat "isolated" from the rest of the group, although he refused outright to lay the blame with anyone or name names.

"I don't want to go into detail," he said. "I could have been like a big brother to the rest of the team, but it was difficult as I didn't really have any credibility."

Let's not forget that Henry, a member of France's 1998 World Cup winning team and the side that went on to lift the European Football championship in 2000, is probably the most respected player in France.

Domenech included Henry in the squad but kept him sidelined for much of the competition, bringing him in the second half of the final match against South Africa.

Of the now infamous insult allegedly hurled by Nicolas Anelka at Domenech and which led to the striker's exclusion, Henry remained guarded.

"I didn't hear exactly what was said but when you make that the headline of an article which appears in a newspaper, you have to be completely certain that you've got the correct wording."

Henry said he hadn't witnessed any of the reported fighting between players, nor had he seen pressure put on anyone.

But he also admitted that he didn't know what had gone on among the other players when he returned to his room.

He also insisted that the players' decision not to train as a protest against the French Football Federation's handling of Anelka had been a "unanimous one."

"We decided against training when we were in the bus and nobody was forced into the action," he said.

"With hindsight and in view of the consequences some might have regretted it, but at the time we were united."

Finally of his meeting with Sarkozy on Thursday, Henry said nothing more than it had "gone very well" even when pressed to reveal what the two men had discussed.

Henry's interview, along with those of his club team mate at Barcelona Eric Abidal and the Manchester United player Patrick Evra both of whom also gave interviews on Friday, have left many commentators in France wondering whether the players had agreed on a strategy for dealing with questions following their return home.

Say as little as possible in the short term and wait until later before going into detail as to what really happened.

DSK with "the wind in his sails"

This Thursday's issue of the weekly French news magazine, Le Point, should make interesting reading for Dominique Strauss-Kahn, or DSK as he's most commonly known here, the head of the International Monetary Fund.

Because even though his job means he's currently based in Washington away from the cut and thrust of the domestic political scene, and his tenure there doesn't officially end until 2012, DSK has now become this country's most popular politician.

In the latest poll - yes you might remember how keen the French are on them - conducted by Ispsos on behalf of the magazine, DSK ranks first "dethroning" the former favourite the junior sports ministers Rama Yade who drops to third, and ahead of the ever-popular foreign minister Bernard Kouchner who takes second spot.

It was perhaps only a matter of time that Yade, who has held the top spot for the past five months, should slip in the ratings, after all she hasn't really been making the headlines recently for reasons controversial or otherwise.

But DSK's rise which led Le Point to describe him as having the "wind in his sails" surely keeps alive both interest about a potential presidential run in the 2012 elections, and speculation that he will at least throw his hat into the ring to be the Socialist party's candidate in the race for office.

Remember DSK's every appearance in France, be it in his official capacity or on a private visit, is closely followed - by the media at least.

Even though he made every effort to avoid the subject for example in a televised appearance on the evening news magazine "Le Grand Journal" on Canal + back in November, it just wouldn't go away.

And the latest figures will undoubtedly keep his (and probably many other people's) hopes well and truly alive.

What they indicate, apart from the fact that it's the first time DSK tops the rankings, is that he's popular across the political spectrum. Among those from his own Socialist party he has an approval rating of 63 per cent - no surprise there perhaps.

But should he decide to take a look at what supporters of the ruling centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP), think of him, he'll undoubtedly be pleasantly surprised as among them he has a 68 per cent approval rating.

All right so "agreed" opinion polls are of course never to be fully believed and can be interpreted in any way you might wish. And they don't in any way give the full picture.

But this latest one will surely keep the story of "DSK and the 2012 presidential election" well and truly alive - at least among pollsters and the media.

Just for the record, the current incumbent of the job in which DSK refuses to express a personal or professional interest (ahem), Nicolas Sarkozy, fares just as he did last month with a 38 per cent approval rating - an occupational hazard of High Office perhaps.

To be continued...

Richard Gasquet innocent in doping charges

Good news for Richard Gasquet, the former French number one men's tennis player.

He has been cleared of any claims of doping by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

While "justice has been done" as far as Gasquet is concerned, and he's "ready to turn the page and get on with his career", it seems as though the 23-year-old still has a few scores to settle and rumours to scotch.

Most notably the remarks made by a former fellow professional, Henri Leconte, who had been less than supportive when the story first broke, and rumours surrounding his relationship with the publishing, media, aerospace and retail mogul, Arnaud Lagardère.

On Thursday the CAS threw out an appeal made by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) which had wanted him banned for two years for testing positive for cocaine.

Back in July a three-man independent ITF tribunal had accepted Gasquet's version of events surrounding "the kiss" that had led him to becoming "inadvertently contaminated" during a tournament in Miami; one in which he had been scheduled to play but had withdrawn from before the first round because of a shoulder injury.

The tribunal had given Gasquet a two month and 15 day suspension retroactively from May 1, effectively clearing him to return to competition.

But both the ITF and WADA had appealed to tribunal's findings, requesting that the player be banned from competition for two years. It was that appeal that the CAS rejected on Thursday, effectively supporting Gasquet's claims of having been an innocent victim in the affair.

Since the verdict, Gasquet has given interviews across the French media - an indication perhaps on how much interest there has been in this country in the story over the past eight months.

Appearing on national radio on Friday, Gasquet said he had appreciated the support he had received from people close to him and many other professionals on the tennis circuit, but that he would never forget the comments Leconte had made which had questioned his version of events.

"There weren't a lot of negative remarks thank goodness, and by far the most virulent reaction was from Leconte," he said.

I don't know why he said that. Perhaps he wanted to make himself sound interesting," he added.

"He's not the most refined or intelligent person we know in Paris.

"I won't forget, that's for sure."

Richard Gasquet règle ses comptes avec Henri Leconte
par Europe1fr

On Thursday just hours after the verdict, a relieved Gasquet appeared on the mid-evening television news magazine "Le Grand Journal" on Canal +, alongside Lagardère: a chance for the player to recount what life had been like since the story first broke, his plans for the future and for the two men to put paid to rumours that they had been lovers.

And about those rumours, after Lagardère had unequivocally denied there being any truth of a sexual relationship between the two men, Gasquet added, "Homosexual with Arnaud....Drugged and homosexual, definitely not."

DSK for French president 2012 - the saga continues

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn (or DSK as he's more commonly known here), has been in Paris this week.

And the burning subject on the lips of everyone (oh all right then, journalists) was whether he wanted to be the Socialist party's candidate for the 2012 French presidential elections.

Not without reason perhaps the media was - and remains - enthralled by the prospect, and of course the subject came up in both television and newspaper interviews he gave while in the French capital.

He might be head of one of the most important organisations overseeing the global financial system, but the fact of the matter is that DSK's trips to Paris are significant on the domestic political front because he's considered by many as a potentially major political opponent to the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, should he become the Socialist party's candidate for office in the 2012 elections.

The polls say so, and it's not something new.

Nor is it something that has escaped the attention of Sarkozy, who back in July 2007 quickly secured the agreement of other European Union leaders to nominate DSK as the head of the IMF when the job became available.

Every time DSK puts in an appearance here - be it in his official capacity, or on a private visit - the saga of the "return of Dominique Strauss-Kahn for 2012" is re-ignited.

And such was the case this past week when he faced the inevitable questions on his popularity among the French electorate and what the consequences might be.

Appearing on the mid-evening television news magazine "Le Grand Journal" on Canal + on Wednesday, DSK avoided all the questions about any presidential ambitions, and especially the possibility of resigning from his current job before reaching the end of his tenure, with panache.

"You have people who spend their lives living in the past or the future," he said.

"I live in the present," he added.

"Of course it's always pleasant when people like you, but there have been times when I've been less popular," he said.

"Maybe the fact that I'm far away (in Washington) contributes to my popularity."

If DSK remains for the moment somewhat loathe to discuss a possible presidential run, then others are certainly less hesitant about preparing the path for him.

They include a former prime minister, Laurent Fabius, who said in a television interview that Strauss-Kahn was one of the few Socialist figures who could "shoulder the responsibility of being president" and the leader of the party, Martine Aubry.

"If he proves to be the party's best candidate then he must return," she said during a political talk show on France 2 television.

"But it's still too early to say who is the (party's) candidate capable of winning the presidency," she went on to say, adding that she and Strauss-Kahn shared the same opinion.

Undoubtedly DSK and the 2012 presidential election is a story "to be continued".

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy's "yes" to Woody Allen film role

France's first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, has confirmed that she'll be performing in US film maker Woody Allen's next film.

The former supermodel and singer admits she doesn't know what role she'll be playing, but has nonetheless agreed to an offer made by the Oscar-winning director and promised him not to do a film with anyone else beforehand.

Appearing on the mid-evening French television news magazine "Le Grand Journal" on Canal + on Monday evening, Bruni-Sarkozy said that the possibility of working alongside Allen was too good to pass up.

"I am not at all actress and maybe I'll be hopeless," she said. "but I cannot miss an opportunity like this," she added.

When I'm a grandmother I'll be able to say I've been in a Woody Allen film."

Speculation of a possible role for France's first lady in Allen's next movie had been rife since the summer, when the 73-year-old director was in Paris to promote his most recent film, "Whatever works".

During an appearance on the very same Canal + programme back in June, Allen had expressed his desire to work with Bruni-Sarkozy, saying she was "an accomplished artist, very beautiful," and that he was "sure she had a gift for acting."

Bruni-Sarkozy has made a big screen appearance before - a brief one as "herself" in the late Robert Altman's 1994 fashion satire "Prêt-à-Porter" ("Ready to wear").

And of course her "character" recently made it to the small screen in an episode of the US animated television sitcom, "The Simpsons", as a rather unflattering "wine-swigging, chain-smoking man- eater."

In spite of Bruni's-Sarkozy's limited experience, perhaps Allen's faith in her potential could be based on what he describes as her "charisma" and also on the fact that she has a family acting pedigree.

Her mother, Marisa Borini, has appeared in several films and of course her older sister, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, is an accomplished film, television and theatre actress and director.

Filming for Allen's next movie is scheduled to begin in Paris next year.