French Presidential Hopeful Left Red Faced After Getting the Price of a Pastry Very Wrong
A presidential hopeful in France faced public backlash on Monday when he got the price of a popular French pastry so wrong he appeared to expose a significant gap between his own reality and the lives of everyday French people.
The center-right politician Jean-François Copé was asked by a radio audience member how much he thought a pain au chocolat cost today, reports Agence France-Presse. To which he replied, “I have no idea,” guessing that it might be “around 10 or 15 centimes,” (about $0.16.)
In reality, you would need ten times that in most bakeries, with the chocolate-filled buttery pastries going for the equivalent of between $1 and $2. French Twitter immediately coined the hashtag #painauchocolatgate.
“When you learn that #Copé estimated the cost of a #painauchocolat to be between 10 & 15 cents, and then you remember that he was minister of finance,” wrote one Twitter user.
Quand tu apprends que #Copé estime qu'un #painauchocolat coûte entre 10 et 15 centimes puis que tu réalises qu'il a été ministre du budget. pic.twitter.com/ks1EhfSnnp
— Dabo (@MissDabo_) October 24, 2016
“Well done mate, your final sprint to the #Primary2016 is off to a great start,” said Valérie Détresse.
Bien joué mon Jeff, ton sprint final pour la #Primaire2016 est bien lancé #Copé #PainAuChocolatGate #Primaire pic.twitter.com/qqvTucpms7
— Valérie Détresse (@ValerieDetresse) October 24, 2016
Businesses were also quick to leap on the bandwagon:
“Dear Monsieur Copé, rent a BMW Series 1 starting from “290” #painauchocolats per day,” wrote car rental company Sixt France.
Cher M. #Copé, louez votre BMW Série 1 à partir de "290" #painauchocolat par jour. #CalculCommeCopé pic.twitter.com/81xtmMn272
— Sixt France (@SixtFR) October 24, 2016
In response, Copé said he didn’t buy the chocolate pastry that often as “You have to be careful. They are too high in calories,” he said, according to French news site the Local.
[AFP]