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{{trope}}
{{quote|"Morticia! [[Fetish Fuel|That's French]]!"
|'''Gomez''', ''[[The Addams Family]]''}}
{{quote|"Pretentious? ''Moi''?"
|"Two word joke" of unknown origin, but popularized by [[The Muppets|Miss Piggy]].}}
From time to time, characters who want to be seen as ''très intelligents'' add ''un peu de français'' to their speech, ''n'est-ce pas?''
This may be because of a, a, a certain ''[[Everything Sounds Sexier in French|je ne sais quoi]]'', or because French is just
However, native French-speakers usually [[Gratuitous English|use English words]] for the same reason.
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Contrast [[Gratuitous English]], which is used in France to sound, ''comme les anglais disent'', "[[Rule of Cool|cool]]".
{{examples|Des exemples de français injustifié incluent:}}
== Des Généralités ==
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* Anthropologie (aside from its name) tends to sell products with nonsensical French brand names like "Moulinette Soeur" (Little-Windmill Sister)
== [[Western Animation|Les Dessins Animés Occidentaux]] ==
* ''[[The Simpsons]]'' loves to go about Frenchifying the characters' dialogue. Bart, for example, once described his mischief as being "Bartesque" (which is actually a "Franglish" neologism, but we'll let it slide). When taking the family to see an artsy-fartsy French-Canadian circus, Lisa mentions that "We've had tickets since ''septembre''!" (which, if you're curious, is pronounced something like "set-OM-brrr"). And Marge actually once said "''Tres bien''" after hearing a menu item described to her by a waiter - somewhat justified since she's in a fancy restaurant, and ''really'' justified when you remember that Marge's family (the Bouviers) are of French ancestry.
* ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]'' has this quite a bit.
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** "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000" has the Flim Flam Brothers refer to themselves as traveling salesponies ''nonpareils''.
== [[Anime|Les Animés japonaise]] et [[Manga|les Mangas]] ==
* Arumi's father from ''[[
* Much of the music Yoko Kanno provided for ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' is in a weird French-ish language of her own design. Notable tunes in that language include "Cats on Mars".
** In fact, the lyrics of the song "Fantaisie Sign", sung by Carla Vallet, are 100% French. The lyrics, however, are a Narm sandwich covered with Narm sauce, [[Narm Charm|which may actually make the song even cuter.]]
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* Taki from ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'' calls people "monsieur" for some reason.
* Most of the track titles on the ''[[Rebuild of Evangelion]]'' soundtracks are in French. Either that or they're a mess of numbers, letters, and underscores.
* If you pause the player at the beginning of the fourth episode of ''[[
* Fantina from the ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' anime peppers her speech with French phrases in the English dub. In the original Japanese she peppers her speech with [[Gratuitous English|English]] instead.
** Cabernet/Burgundy from ''Black and White'' does this quite often, often times coming with a [[Bilingual Bonus]]. Just about every other word of hers is in French.
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* In the English translation of ''[[Oh My Goddess]]'' (but not the original Japanese), Peorth is prone to using Gratuitous French.
== [[Newspaper Comics|Les Bandes Dessinées dans les Journaux]] ==
* Roz Chast drew "The Man who was Admired for his Lack of Lack of Pretense", depicting a man decked out in smoking jacket, ascot and cigarette holder, in his apartment scattered with ''objets d'arte'' on pedestals - he's saying to us "Let's only speak French for a while."
== [[Web Comics|Les Bandes Dessinées sur le Net]] ==▼
▲== Les Bandes Dessinées sur le Net ==
* Aimee Mouffette from ''[http://www.monsterful.com/ Monsterful]'', justified since she seems to come from a fictional version of Paris, the monster city of Vamparis, in other words she's french so to speak.
* From ''[[Girl Genius]]'', Gilgamesh Wulfenbach spent some time in Paris and thus is fluent in French. He doesn't usually put Gratuitous French in his speech, but [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090720 there was this one time he was delirious...]
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* ''[http://vimeo.com/10593465 En Deuil]'', [[Le Film Artistique]] featured on the ''[[Dresden Codak]]'' page on [[April Fools' Day]] 2010. (There is also the [[Gratuitous German]] sequel ''[http://vimeo.com/39131013 A Work in Progress]'', from [[April Fools' Day]] two years later.)
== [[Film|Le Cinéma]] ==▼
▲== Le Cinéma ==
* Swearing in the ''[[The Matrix]] Reloaded'':
{{quote|'''The Merovingian:''' ''"Château Haut-Brion 1959, magnificent wine, I love French wine, like I love the French language. I have sampled every language, French is my favourite - fantastic language, especially to curse with.'' Nom de Dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperie de connard d'enculé de ta mère. ''It's like wiping your ass with silk, I love it."''}}
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* It's generally the opposite in Canada where French Canadians have traditionally been an underclass. This leads to an inversion in The Rocket when the Anglophone coach congratulates his Francophone players for winning the Stanley Cup in French. It's seen as a surprising moment of him lowering himself to show his appreciation.
== [[Recorded and Stand-Up Comedy|La Comédie]] ==
* [[Eddie Izzard]]. Fluent in French, he has been known to perform his stand-up specials in French for French-speakers, and frequently includes segments in French in front of English-speaking audiences. [[Gratuitous German|Same goes for German, but that's a different trope.]]
** "Ou est la plume de mon oncle?" "La plume de mon oncle est bingy bongy dingy dangy..."
*** "By the way, if you don't speak French, then all that was fucking funny"
* Averted by [[George Carlin]] during the introduction to his album ''Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics'', where he makes a point to tell us that he will not be using the French adverb ''très'' to modify any English words.
* [[Bill Bailey]]'s re-arrangement of the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' theme music as [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68wJIQbCtlI slow Belgian jazz] is threaded through with a running monologue in French which is surprisingly understandable even if you don't speak French: "Exterminez-vous! Exterminez-vous! .... Je suis... Docteur Qui."
== [[Video Games|Les Jeux Vidéo]] ==▼
▲== Les Jeux Vidéo ==
* Mid-Boss from ''[[Disgaea]]'' is fond of using "moi" in place of "me" during his [[Large Ham|dramatic speeches]], simply because it sounds exotic.
** The original script had him using [[Gratuitous English]] as well, which obviously wouldn't work if translated literally.
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* Waka in ''[[Okami]]'' uses French cliché phrases from time to time in the American translation. In the original Japanese version, he used [[Gratuitous English]], but that wouldn't have translated well.
* Ruby Heart in ''[[Marvel vs. Capcom|Marvel vs. Capcom 2]]''. Or at least it's supposed to be French. You can barely tell.
* Fantina speaks gratuitous French in the English version of [[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl|''Pokémon Diamond, Pearl'', and ''Platinum'']]. In the original Japanese version, her name was Melissa and she spoke gratuitous English.
* The Belgian Jeanette "Angel" Devereaux of the ''[[Wing Commander (video game)|Wing Commander]]'' series often inserts French words and phrases into her speech, (for example, "Oui, mon colonel") and commonly refers to people as "monsieur" or ("mademoiselle" for Spirit).
* The Spy in ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'' uses a heavy French accent and numerous gratuitous French lines (and one or two [[Gratuitous Spanish]] lines as well). As part of a running development theme, his lines have numerous grammar errors ("ma petit chou-fleur" would be used to refer to a man, not a woman), and his voice actor isn't French.
** In the French ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'', the Spy has some [[Gratuitous English]] in his lines instead.
* One of the preps in ''[[Bully (video game)|Bully]]'' refers to himself as ''[[Nouveau Riche|nouveau riche]]'' because he's ashamed to admit that his father is a self-made man.
* Segundo from ''[[Beyond Good & Evil (video game)|Beyond Good and Evil]]'' mixes Gratuitous French, [[Gratuitous Spanish]], and [[Gratuitous Italian]] in a fairly random way.
** The best part is that he doesn't just do so in English. The other dubs also portray him with a strange mishmash of accents and vocabulary, but with bonus [[Gratuitous English|Gratuitous Anglicisms]], too!
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* The ''[[Metal Gear]]'' series throws this around a little: The 'Les Enfants Terribles' project and 'Militaires Sans Frontières' to name a couple of instances.
** Neither of these really qualify as gratuitous ''en soi''. Les Enfants Terribles is named after Jean Cocteau's novel of the same name and the [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Médecins sans Frontières pun]] wouldn't really work in any other language.
* Yoh from ''[[Starry Sky]]'', who is a half, occasionally spouts a few lines of French. Although they might be grammatically correct for the most part, the pronunciation and spelling are terrible.
** Might also be added in that category his full name, [[As Long as It Sounds Foreign|Henri Samuel Jean Aimée]]... Which is a great name, given you're 200 years old.
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20100707075535/http://blog.eientei.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Track_List.jpg LOL.] Tell me they ''did not'' just translate "Track list" as "Truck list" right there.
*** They did. Trust me, there is no known translation of "track" that can end up even remotely like "camion".
* Larxene's weapons in ''[[Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days
* Innes Lorenz from ''Tales of Hearts'' deserves an honorable mention, since all of her artes contain french words.
* A few items in ''[[Radiant Historia]]'' have French names, as does the continent on which it takes place, Vainqueur ("conqueror").
* ''[[Night Trap]]'' has Mr. Martin saying a couple of these, either because he is French or is trying to sound like it.
* ''[[Tales of the Abyss]]'' has the spell ''Eclair de L'armes'' (Flash of Tears) and it's [[Fo F]] Change, ''Flamme Rouge''.
* Almost every line from Harle in ''[[Chrono Cross]]''.
* The final (and [[No Export for You|Japan exclusive]] till a PC port years after the fact) entry in the ''[[Agarest Senki]]'' series is subtitled "Mariage" (one r instead of the English Marriage's double r). This may be a typo, though several of the characters and places do have French or Latin names. This name was retained when the game was finally released in English.
* This is the main shtick of [[Spoiled Sweet]] Mizuki Sudoh in ''[[Tokimeki Memorial]] [[Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side|Girl's Side]] 1st Love''. The Hanatsubaki family thorough the franchise (Goro in ''1st Love'', Himeko in ''2nd Kiss'' and Karen in ''3rd Story'') also had bouts of this, part in the actual script, part on the fan translators spirit of [[Keep It Foreign]].
== [[Literature|La Littérature]] ==
* In English Literature it was pretty common up until the 1980's for authors to regularly [[Throw It In|throw in]] a few French phrases here and there. It was a sign of an educated person to "know a bit of French". If you didn't, ''tant pis'' - too bad for you.
* ''[[Lolita]]''. Good luck trying to figure out what they hell everyone's talking about if you aren't bilingual, because occasionally plot-relevant information is given only in French. Humbert is particularly given to this, and he gets kinda snooty when other characters use bad French. This is one of many traits that lead the reader to conclude that his self-image boils down to, "Oh, I may be a pedophile, but at least I'm a ''sophisticated'' pedophile."
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** [[The Jeeves|Jeeves]] is equally prone to this. From the [[A Day in the Limelight|Jeeves-narrated]] "Bertie Changes His Mind":
{{quote|Tact, of course, has always been with me a ''sine qua non;''<ref>This one is latin</ref> while as for resource, I think I may say that I have usually contrived to show a certain modicum of what I might call ''finesse'' in handling those little ''contretemps'' which inevitably arise from time to time in the daily life of a gentleman’s personal gentleman.}}
* In the Discworld novel ''[[
* A running joke in ''[[Fool]]'', a book by the same author as ''Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff'', concerning the fool from [[King Lear]] as the protagonist, is the main character's fondness for the following phrase: "'Moi!?' I said, In [[Sophisticated As Hell|perfect fucking French]]"
* The Spanish Language Novel ''Aura'' by Carlos Fuentes includes whole segments in French, segments that apparently provide important clues to the plot
* The character of Jean Claude from the [[Anita Blake]] series is very, very guilty of this.
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* Appears frequently in [[Fancy Nancy]]'s book series. Using French in order to look sophisticated is an essential trait of Nancy's personality.
== [[Music|La Musique]] ==
* The second verse of Electric Light Orchestra's "Hold On Tight" is in French; more specifically, it's the first verse translated into French.
* The first half of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6Dm5hldI-k Les Étoiles] by Melody Gardot is in French.
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* MGMT's [[Live Album|live EP]] ''Qu'est-ce que c'est la vie, chaton?'' - it translates to "What Is Life, Kitten?"
* There are a few musicians who have built entire careers as French-language singers, despite it not being their first language. Claudia Phillips is American. Jeane Manson was born in Cleveland. Joe Dassin and Nanette Workman were born in [[Big Applesauce|Brooklyn]]. Tout le monde les connâit à Paris, mais aux États-Unis? Pas vraiment.
** Occasionally,
** Nanette Workman's « [https://www.paroles-musique.com/eng/Nanette_Workman-Call_Girl-lyrics,p02523286 Callgirl] » aims primarily at Montréal en français, but makes itself appear more international by making gratituitous use of four languages.
* British singer-songwriter Kelly Osbourne lapses into French at a few points in "[https://genius.com/Kelly-osbourne-one-word-lyrics One Word]".
== [[Web Original|Les Pages de Web Originales]] ==
*As an [[April Fools' Day]] joke, [[Forgotten Weapons]] did [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olLjXYKfUYA a video on "munition lancée à la main pierre mle"]. To disguise the mundane nature of the topic, Ian used French words and phrases for things such as "quarry" and "rock thrown as weapon".
== [[Radio|La Radio]] ==
* In an episode of ''[[Revolting People]]'', Joshua attempts to sound sophisticated by adding gratuitous French expressions to his speech, despite having no idea what any of them mean (and thus invariably using them inappropriately). When Sam points this out, Joshua responds that everybody knows French is just decorative and it doesn't matter what the words ''mean''—and anyway, he doesn't know what most words in English mean either, and he's never let that stop him.
== [[Puppet Shows|Les Spectacles de Marionnettes]] ==▼
▲== Les Spectacles de Marionnettes ==
* ''[[The Muppet Show]]''. Miss Piggy.
** Much less frequently, but the Swedish Chef will occasionally add some French to his [[Foreign Sounding Gibberish]] (i.e. "où est la banananana").
== [[Live-Action TV|La Télévision]] ==▼
▲== La Télévision ==
* Subverted in ''[[Only Fools and Horses]]'', wherein Del Boy tries to use French to seem intelligent, but constantly, CONSTANTLY gets it wrong... to the point of saying ''bonjour'' to mean "goodbye" and ''au revoir'' to mean "hello".
** Lampshaded in one of the last specials in which they actually go to France:
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* Enter in ''[[Tokumei Sentai Gobusters]]'', whose catchphrase is ''Ça va, Go-Busters?'' ("How are you, Go-Busters?")
== [[Theatre|Le Théâtre]] ==▼
▲== Le Théâtre ==
* [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in the Act I finale of [[Gilbert and Sullivan|Iolanthe]]: While it has long been accepted as part of the English lexicon, peer and peri alike remind the audience that "the word 'prestige' is French." They also point out the origins of "canaille," [[Altum Videtur|"pleb,"]] and [[Gratuitous Greek|"hoi polloi"]] [[Viewers are Morons|(which, incidentally, mean more or less the same thing)]]. So you have "a Latin word, a Greek remark, and one that's French."
* In ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire]]'', Blanche briefly talks French to Mitch, but finds that he doesn't understand.
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