While not unexpected, the misjudged intervention in the French 2012 election campaign by Brigitte Bardot is a sad reminder that racism is still very much present in France.
Bardot wrote to Nicolas Sarkozy accusing him of letting down animals by failing to ban halal slaughter. She's also called on mayors to back Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right Front National party, in the election.
Bardot's politics having been to the far right for some time, her present husband being a one-time adviser to Jean-Marie Le Pen, father of Marine Le Pen and himself former Front National leader. There are also her previous convictions for inciting racial hatred against Muslims.
While not exactly out of character, it's sad for a couple of reasons. Obviously it shows that racist attitudes are still very much viewed by many as acceptable. When someone in the public eye - and whether she has 'retired' or not, Bardot is well aware that she remains a public figure - expressed such abhorrent and nonsensical views
It's also sad considering how she was when she was young, regarded internationally as one of the icons of French style and glamour. She was unique, there was no British or American equivalent of Bardot.
Similarly it's a disappointment as her opinions damage much of the work towards animal welfare in France. Calls for humane treatment of animals will be viewed by many now as covertly racially motivated.
But at her peak she was a genuine icon who many have since tried to emulate, mostly without the same degree of success.
There are many great clips of her musical work online, including her work with Gainsbourg, but this song with its recent use as the soundtrack for a commercial deserves to be heard for more than just 20-30 seconds in an advert break.
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