With all the political ire going on in the United States, it’s sometimes good to put things in perspective.
French presidential candidate Jean-Francois Copé has sparked outrage on Twitter after wildly underestimating the cost of a pain au chocolat pastry. For those who don’t know, the sweet chocolate-filled croissants are somewhat of a national treasure and a staple of any French bakery.
READ MORE: French PM talks US politics with Trudeau, says ‘Trump is rejected by the world’
The political upheaval began Monday during a radio interview with Europe 1, when Copé was asked if he knew the price of the famous French pastry.
“I have no clue, I have no idea … maybe 10 to 15 cents,” Cope said during the interview.
But, in reality, one would be so lucky as to find a bakery in France willing to hand over a pain au chocolate for much less than a euro (about C$1.50).
READ MORE: Gaffe Proof? Trump vs. Clinton tests political pitfalls
Copé’s lack of knowledge surrounding the price of pastries immediately made waves on Twitter, where users coined the hashtag #PainAuChocolatGate to share their outrage over his comments.
“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.
“Good, if Copé becomes president he will he make pain au chocolat 10 cents,” wrote another.
One user joked, “Selling pain au chocolat, collectors, very good condition with original bag. 20 Euros firm price.”
Copé later took to his own Twitter account to explain his lack of pastry knowledge stating, “I confess to being very conscious of my waistline, so to be honest I stopped eating “chocolatines” long ago.”
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time the famous pastry has gotten Copé in trouble. In 2012, the politician was accused of racism after he said there were neighbourhoods in France where parents would be upset to learn their children had “pain au chocolat torn from their hands by thugs who explain to them we don’t eat during ramadan.”
“There are neighbourhoods where children cannot eat their bread with chocolate because it is Ramadan,” read a tweet from Copé expressing the same concerns.
Copé isn’t alone in his controversy – other politicians have bungled the cost of popular food items in the past. Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush admitted he didn’t know how much a gallon of milk cost during a debate with Bill Clinton and Ross Perot in 1992. In 2013, Former British Prime Minister David Cameron also struggled to guess the average cost of a loaf of bread, after a journalist asked him to prove if he understood the cost of living for U.K. voters.
“I don’t buy the value stuff. I have a breadmaker at home,” Cameron said during the interview. He later guessed it would cost “north of a pound” (just over C$1.60).
Now, imagine the outrage if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau failed to come up with the correct price of a large double double at Tim Hortons.
Comments