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Boris Johnson Speaking French Is The Clip You Didn't Know You Needed To See Today

Boris Johnson Speaking French Is The Clip You Didn't Know You Needed To See Today

The former Foreign Minister was filmed for a BBC documentary

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

A clip of Boris Johnson speaking in French to a senior Foreign Office diplomat has gone viral as people struggle to get their heads around whether it's for real or not.


The clip, taken from the BBC's Inside the Foreign Office, shows Johnson speaking to Caroline Wilson (Europe Director at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) about a speech he's about to give in Paris - he warns her that the speech is 'too boring' and 'needs more gags', to which she replies that she'll look at it.

She asks him: "Are you really going to do the whole raft of foreign policy issues in French?"

And you better believe he is. Well, he's going to try to, but if the next few moments of the clip are anything to go by then it's not going to be great.

The former Foreign Minister stumbles over his words as he attempts to read through the draft.

Not since Joey Barton's infamous 2012 speech have we seen such poor treatment of the beautiful French language.

Sensing that it's not going too well, Wilson suggests: "It might be best just to speak to the headlines in French."

But Johnson isn't having that, telling her: "They love it when I talk French."

Wilson's face speaks volumes about the whole thing.

Caroline Wilson doesn't look impressed with Boris' French language skills.
BBC

Naturally, people are comparing the whole thing to the satirical sitcom The Thick of It, with one person writing that they're loving 'series five' of the show after seeing the clip.

Another asked: "Does he know he's being filmed? I mean this is a joke... right? Please, please tell me this is a joke... it can't be real. He can't be that incompetent."

Others felt for Wilson, with one Twitter user saying: "Patience of a saint. I'd love to see her response when she gets home from work and gets asked the question, 'How was your day?'"

Johnson and Wilson were on a flight from Lisbon to Paris when the footage was filmed.

Later in the clip, he questions Wilson about France's stance on Brexit - accusing the country of acting like 'naughty children'.

Wilson helpfully explains a number of reasons for French President Emmanuel Macron's views, prompting him to reply that the French are 'having their cake and eating it', to which Wilson warns him: "We shouldn't probably use the cake analogy too much."

An unfazed Bojo replies: "Okie kokie." Indeed.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: uk news, politics