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47of74

(18,470 posts) Thu May 17, 2012, 02:13 PM May 2012

New French PM's name causes Middle East giggles

Proving once again that 8th graders exist everywhere;

Abu Dhabi, UAE (CNN) -- France's new Socialist government is already causing ripples throughout a Europe struggling to balance government budgets without making ordinary people's lives miserable, but it has created a completely different problem in the Middle East.

The prime minister's last name, it turns out, sounds like an Arabic slang word for penis.

His name is Jean-Marc Ayrault.

Pronounced properly in French, the last name is very much like a moderately rude Lebanese and Palestinian term that is widely understood in the Arabic world.