- Join the France 24 community here
- Log in
Breaking News
Share :
Subscribe :
Subscribe :
Share :
Subscribe :
Subscribe :
Latest update: 24/04/2010
- Facebook - French politics - Nicolas Sarkozy - Twitter
Sarkozy's 'wise guy' gaffe sparks Internet buzz
Two years after telling a heckler to "get lost, ***hole”, a new video of French President Nicolas Sarkozy scolding a young man is making its way around the Internet.
By Sébastian SEIBT (text)
In the latest incident in France to set the Internet ablaze, French President Nicolas Sarkozy scolded someone at a rally in the eastern city of Chambery on Thursday. “Fais pas le malin!” (Don’t be a wise guy!) Sarkozy told the young man, who pretended to wipe his hand after shaking the president’s.
While the remark went unnoticed by most people lining up to greet Sarkozy, the cameras of French television station TF1 were on hand to immortalise the less-than-presidential pronouncement.
Just a few hours later, the video spread across the French blogosphere like wildfire, adding to the Head of State’s reputation for clumsy word choice and lack of restraint.
“Don’t be a wise guy!” was a far tamer retort than the infamous “Get lost, ***hole” that President Sarkozy shot back at a heckler two years ago at the Paris Agricultural Show. But Thursday’s comment naturally recalled the controversial 2008 incident.
It also sparked a storm of visits and comments on some of the most widely viewed Web sites.
The video received has been viewed on 15,830 times on YouTube in less than 24 hours. Meanwhile, a Facebook group was quickly created on Thursday, and is already advertising “Don’t be a wise guy!” t-shirts.
But the buzz was particularly loud on Twitter, where the keyword #faispaslemalin has become one of the most searched and, ironically, the butt of numerous wisecracks.
A popular exchange on Twitter in the last 24 hours has been completing a sentence that begins with “Don’t be a Wise Guy!”. Some examples are: "#dontbeawiseguy or I’ll call back the volcanic ash cloud", #dontbeawiseguy or I’ll replace [Finance Minister Christine] Lagarde with [Greek PM George] Papandreou", and #dontbeawiseguy or I’ll cut your retirement pension".
Related Content
‘Darth Vader’ demands free land from Ukrainian government
Browse all editions
FRANCE 24 PARTNERS
Comments (7)
Wiseguy
Freedom of speech is often not recognized by many who themselves criticize others.
Sarkozy's "wise guy" remark
Much ado about nothing! I'm a french native and "fais pas le malin" is not what I'd call severe. The boy's behavior was impertinent. The president's remark a mild one. Fini.
'wise guy' vs. 'malin'
The severity of the insult depends on what the definition of 'malin' is. Haven't checked it with a Larousse, but was the English translation correct? The concise Oxford Dictionary says 'wise guy' means a 'know it all', but I'm from Chicago, and in our vocabulary 'wise guys' are gangsters, thugs, like Capone's hirelings. [E.G. the old U.S. TV show titled 'Wise guy']
“Fais pas le malin!”
That guy has been famous than Sarkozy now...Can I shake a hand with him too...Can't hold a smile maybe...
A popular exchange on Twitter
A popular exchange on Twitter in the last 24 hours has been completing a sentence that begins with “Don’t be a Wise Guy!”. Some examples are: "#dontbeawiseguy or I’ll call back the volcanic ash cloud", #dontbeawiseguy or I’ll replace [Finance Minister Christine] Lagarde with [Greek PM George] Papandreou", and #dontbeawiseguy or I’ll cut your retirement pension"
so this is what passes for humor in france? good god.
A wise guy eh?
Poor Mr. Sarkozy. I don't see what all the hub bub is about. The man deliberatly offended him and deserved a retort. Wise guy is not offensive.
I would have said " Your supposed to do that before you shake a President's hand."
A French sophisticate.
This is probably a play on the incident in Haiti, when George W Bush wiped his hand on Bill Clinton's shirt sleeve, after he had shaken the hand of a Haitian bystander. Whilst there is a degree of humour in this, the French people should think about getting a grip, show some respect to President Sarkozy and engage him in reasoned discussion, in lieu of the behaviour of the gutter.
Post new comment