Friday's French music break - Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, "Chez Keith et Anita"

It's without doubt the music event of the year in France - well unless, of course, you're counting on the country finishing as an also ran in May's Eurovision Song Contest in the Swedish city of Malmö.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy's new album is set for release in April, and already French radio stations are playing an acoustic version of the first track to be taken as a single.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (screenshot from video clip of "Chez Keith et Anita")

Bruni-Sarkozy is back in fine form as she murmurs her way through "Chez Keith et Anita", a charming little tune "with a Cuban rhythm" about Rolling Stone Keith Richards and his former partner Anita Pallenberg.

Heck, at one point Bruni-Sarkozy even breaks into a rap...of sorts...although that might be putting it a little strongly perhaps. So let's settle for "talking in tune".

The single is from the former-top model, cum actress and one-term first lady's fourth studio album "Little French songs", the long-anticipated (by some) follow-up to her best-selling (really?) "Comme si de rien n'était" in 2008

Among the treats in store on the new album apparently is a homage to her other half - the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, just in case you needed reminding.

"Mon Raymond," she sings in the track entitled "Raymond". "Il a tout bon, c'est d'la valeur authentique, pour franchir le Rubicon on peut pas dire qu'il hésite / (...) Mon Raymond, il est canon, c'est d'la bombe atomique." (You can do the Google translate if you need to).

Cough, cough.

And there's a swipe at that much revered/reviled profession of journalism in "Les diseurs" with, "Il faut dire que c'est pas drôle, non, d'faire diseurs, ce n'est pas le beau rôle, non. Toutes ces heures passées à causer pour finir oubliés".

Strong stuff.

Sadly you'll have to wait until April 1 (and no, apparently that's not an April Fool) until you can get your mitts on "Little French songs" and treat your ears to the breathless dulcets of the 45-year-old.

But just in case you're impatient to hear what all the pre-release fuss is (or will be) about, here's the acoustic version of that first single, "Chez Keith and Anita".



Now if all that hasn't made you prick up your ears in absolute delight, there's also a tour in the offing.

The head of Barclay, the lucky record label releasing "Little French songs", Olivier Caillart, confirmed Bruni-Sarkozy would be taking her show on the road later in the year.

"A tour is planned in the autumn," he said, adding how delighted he was that Bruni-Sarkozy had "shown confidence in the label by signing".

"The quality of her writing, the unique timbre of her voice and its charm make her one on the major French singing artists," he added, not exaggerating in the slightest.

Ah.

Dominique de Villepin's Rolling Stone is a Beatle

Former French prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, confuses The Beatles with The Rolling Stones during a prime time television show.

Dominique de Villepin (photo from Wikipedia, copyright David Mendiboure - Service photo de Matignon)

Dominique de Villepin is due to launch his own political movement on June 19.

It's the next stage of his possible bid to become the next French president when elections take place in 2012.



As France 24 reported earlier this year, the new "independent political movement" is viewed by many as a challenge to his "bitter rival" the current French president, Nicolas Sarkozy.

With the launch fast approaching, Villepin has been multiplying his public appearances and of course has been making full use of the country's media to get his message across.

Last weekend for example, he appeared on Dimanche +, the Sunday afternoon political magazine on Canal +, during which he criticised Sarkozy's foreign policy, saying France's voice wasn't being heard loud enough in the Middle East or Afghanistan,

But just a few days prior to that while on "La boïte à questions" portion of the daily evening news and talk show, Le Grand Journal, on the same channel, Villepin made an error which has more than amused some commentators.

"La boïte à questions" is a short segment of the show during which guests are invited into a room in which they face a screen displaying questions sent in by viewers.

It's a light-hearted affair, obviously meant to be entertaining, but it can at times be quite revealing.

Such was the case with Villepin.

His question and answer session started off well enough.

"Can you say in English, 'I might be a candidate (for the presidency) in 2012'," he was asked.

The former diplomat, one-time foreign minister, and prime minister from 2005-2007 responded with aplomb, albeit it heavily accented.

The next question was one designed to test Villepin's street credibility when he was asked "to show that you're more 'with it' than Benoît Hamon (the 42-year-old spokesman for the Socialist party) can you tell us who Lady Gaga is?

"She's a charming singer, a little eccentric," he replied without flinching.

But it was when the 56-year-old was asked a question about a musical group with which his age would presumably make him more familiar that he came somewhat unstuck.

"If you had been a member of the Rolling Stones, which one would you like to have been?" flashed up on the screen.

"It would have been difficult to have been Mick Jagger," began Villepin in response.

"So probably Ringo Star."

It was a blunder which, as far as the well-known French radio and television presenter Laurent Ruquier was concerned, didn't bode well for the former prime minister.

"It's not by confusing the two (groups) that Dominique de Villepin will appear more intelligent," commented Ruquier during his daily radio programme on Monday.

"Of course it's a mistake that anyone could make as not everyone is familiar with the Beatles" he continued.

"But to try to give the impression that you know something, when you don't, that's not particularly admirable."