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The word 'bravitude' was born during the 2007 French presidential campaign, when Ségolène Royal, then the Socialist Party candidate facing Nicolas Sarkozy, used it in a public speech. The press picked it up immediately and the term spread through television satire, blogs and early video platforms, quickly becoming one of the emblematic verbal slips of modern French political life. Royal herself later reclaimed the word with humour, which only cemented its status. Today the clip circulates in the same French political meme ecosystem as the Zemmour coughing soundbite, a favourite among satirists and editors who collect politicians' most quotable accidents.
About this sound
Audio of Ségolène Royal's famous 'bravitude' gaffe from her 2007 French presidential campaign. A legendary political blooper that became a meme and a piece of French internet history.
This clip captures the moment Ségolène Royal, the Socialist candidate in the 2007 French presidential election, accidentally invented the word 'bravitude' while speaking to supporters. The neologism, a blend of 'bravo' and 'bravoure' (bravery), lands with total confidence before the speaker moves on, which is exactly what makes it so funny. The clip is short, clean and instantly recognisable, carrying the warm earnest tone of a campaign speech delivered live. Listeners hear a genuine, unscripted slip of the tongue that the internet has never let France forget.
