The French Aren’t Too Pleased With Jeb Bush
Former Florida Governor and 2016 GOP presidential hopeful Jeb Bush is having a bad day. His performance in Wednesday’s night debate is getting horrible reviews. And his attack on Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s voting record has made him new, French critics.
During the debate, Bush, who is well behind front runner Donald Trump in the polls, said the U.S. Senate has a “French work week” of “three days.” Turns out, the French ambassador to the United States, Gérard Araud, took issue with this characterization. He took to Twitter to voice his displeasure:
A French work week of 3 days? No but a pregnancy paid leave of 16 weeks yes! And proud of it.
— Gérard Araud (@GerardAraud) October 29, 2015
In any country, electoral campaigns offer the opportuniity for a lot of bombastic nonsense. Let's be indulgent. https://t.co/fRyjoYYYjn
— Gérard Araud (@GerardAraud) October 29, 2015
The French work an average of 39,6 hours a week compared to 39,2 for the Germans. https://t.co/22yUVpQbq7
— Gérard Araud (@GerardAraud) October 29, 2015
French anger over the comment continued Thursday at the White House, when French Canal+ journalist Laura Haim asked press secretary Josh Earnest what President Barack Obama thought of the jibe.
“I hope you didn’t take that personally, Laura. I can vouch for the fact that you certainly work more than most members of Congress,” Earnest said.
Haim wasn’t done. She brought up the fact that Araud had taken issue with Bush’s attack on Rubio. “I was just curious to see what the president thinks about the French quality of life,” she asked.
“It certainly seems to be a quality of life that many French people have warmly embraced, as they should,” Earnest said.
Photo Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
