Frédéric Lefevbre

At the Paris Book Fair last week, the man known as French President Nicolas Sarkozy‘s “pit bull” — trade minister Frédéric Lefevbre — put his foot in it. According to a report from the Guardian,

A French minister’s attempt to recast himself as a literary heavyweight misfired after declaring his favorite book is Zadig and Voltaire — a women’s clothing store. Frédéric Lefevbre, junior trade minister in President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government, has become the laughing stock of the French literary world for mistaking the trendy fashion brand with a work by Voltaire, the 18th century philosopher.

Lefevbre was at the book fair to promote his newly released book, Best is the Friend of Good, a 520-pager outlining his right-wing political beliefs and thoughts on life, when he was asked what book made the deepest impression on him. According to the Guardian, he replied, “Without doubt Zadig et Voltaire. It is a lesson about life and I dip into it often.”

Though the minister was no doubt referring to Zadig, or the Book of Fate, one of Voltaire’s most celebrated works, the fact that he bungled, and did so on camera, has made him an internet sensation. It has also spawned a flurry of internet suggestions  for fictitious works involving clothes stores—such as Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo Boss and Thus Spake Zara – a play on Frederich Nietzsche’s Thus Spake Zarathustra.

President Sarkozy and his cabinet have long been accused of being philistines. And this latest gaffe has added fuel to that fire. According to the Guardian, “In 2008 the President controversially declared only ‘a sadist or an idiot’ would include The Princess of Cleves, a 17th-century romantic classic, in public sector exams. Sales of the book rocketed as a result, and a film on the work was released last month.”

In this latest contre temp, one commentator suggested Mr Sarkozy might cite as his favourite work Princesse Tam Tam of Cleves — incorporating a lingerie firm into the title.

Meanwhile, that’s not the only criticism Lefebvre has been taking from literary types. An article in the Daily Telegraph notes that he has also been “accused of plagiarising at least five chunks of his book from various sources, including Wikipedia and a Swiss news site.” The reviews haven’t been good either: François Reynaert, for one, called it “a lukewarm flood of thoughts that are vaguely reactionary and always boring”.

But it’s the Voltaire faux pas that seems to have people even more upset. The Guardian quoted Serge Raffy, a critic on the news website NouvelObs saying,”‘What’s the point of mastering the language of Victor Hugo when most of those who govern us have a profound disdain for the teaching of our idiom?”

Lefebvre, does not seem in the least abashed. His response has been to post a message on his Twitter account reading: ‘I love Zadig, I love Voltaire and I love Twitter. Thank you for this good time.'”

For a good time yourself, check out the video below.