US President Barack Obama
congratulated France's Nicolas Sarkozy on the birth of his daughter on Thursday.
On Friday he is due to make an unprecedent joint appearance alongside his
counterpart on French television.
"I want to
congratulate Nicolas and Carla on the birth of Giulia," Obama said,
referring to Sarkozy's supermodel-turned-singer wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy who
last month gave birth to the couple's first child.
"And I informed
Nicolas, on the way in, that I am confident that Giulia inherited her mother's
looks rather than her father's!" Obama joked to muted laughter from
reporters and a rueful smile from Sarkozy...
This
blooper could have created a diplomatic incident. It is a good example of
how American (rather denigrating) humour does not translate well into a
French context. The joke backfired because it was spoken out of turn;
public figures in a public context should not mock each other about
private (family) matters...
