Recently, there was a small controversy in France as the result of a statement president Emmanuel Macron made in an interview:
« Les non-vaccinés, j’ai très envie de les emmerder. Et donc on va continuer de le faire, jusqu’au bout. C’est ça, la stratégie. Quand ma liberté vient menacer celle des autres, je deviens un irresponsable. Un irresponsable n’est plus un citoyen. »
(Translation: The non-vaccinated people, I really want to “screw/piss them off.” So we are going to keep doing it, all the way. That’s the strategy. When my freedom threatens others’, I become irresponsible. An irresponsible person is no longer a citizen.”
The content irritated many people, especially because Macron often said tactless things in the past, but moreover in French, the word he used (“emmerder“) is really vulgar. Oh là là !
You can check the whole context in the French article above. He probably intentionally used that word to acquire attention with a punch line, as he is preparing to campaign for his likely second term in May (he hasn’t officially announced his candidacy yet). And now, as a joke, people are responding him “On l’emmerdera en mai !” (= we will screw him in May!–at the presidential elections).
Although it is uncommon for French presidents to use such vulgar language in public, he is not the first. In 2008, while at the Agricultural Show, a participant had refused to shake Nicolas Sarkozy’s hand, saying “Ah non! Touche-moi pas ! Tu me salis !” (= Argh no, don’t touch me! You are dirtying me!”. This phrase is quite rude, as the person used the “tutoiement” — which should be used with friends and family only — instead of the appropriate “vousoiement,” especially when addressing to a president.
Sarkozy replied him with an even more rude phrase: “Eh ben casse-toi alors pauv’ con !”. It can roughly be translated to something like “Get lost then, little jerk!”. On top of the “tutoiement” which Sarkozy used too, he also added two familiar (casse-toi and pauv’) and one vulgar (con) words. He actually apologized many times afterwards, saying that the level was very low and these were not words worthy of a president.
At the time it shocked (and amused) so much that it was later used in movies, and even a rap song referenced it, making it truly iconic. Macron’s phrase has also become a joke now. For example, you can see this parody song made by a French youtuber here (with French subtitles): https://youtu.be/cH-6s-TrtxI
Do you think a president should speak with decency at all times, or do you think he can be casual too sometimes?