Even Frenchmen must not "work like a n*gger"



Jean-Paul Guerlain, the perfume maker, used the N word – nègre in French - during a news bulletin. He is of an older generation and was simply using a phrase that would have been normal in his youth.

"The perfumer, who no longer works for the company that bears his name in an official capacity, was discussing the making of his perfume Samsara — Mr. Guerlain created Samsara for a woman.

“One day I told her — and I still called her Madame — ‘What would seduce you if one was to make a perfume for you?’ and she told me, ‘I love jasmine, rose and sandalwood,’” Mr. Guerlain recalled.

“And for once I started working like a [racial epithet]. I don’t know if [racial epithet] ever worked that hard,” he said.

Guerlain has apologized, saying that he ‘vividly’ regrets his unfortunate choice of words, but that pronouncement hasn’t been enough stall groups like SOS-Racisme, a French anti-racism group that plans to file a formal legal complaint against Mr. Guerlain.

Source

There is no doubt it is a very old-fashioned phrase. "Live on welfare like a n**r" would be a phrase more in line with modern-day realities -- but maybe I don't get the point.