Did Kamala Harris dip into a fake French accent in Paris? Speech divides the internet

Whether or not Kamala Harris used a “French accent” during her visit to Paris last week has divided the internet and world of politics following her return to the United States.

On Twitter, many were unable to decipher exactly what the vice president was aiming for with her alleged faux pas (that is French for a tactless remark), when she was speaking with French scientists.

Ms Harris, who was speaking in English, was comparing the worlds of politics and science, and said that she and US President Joe Biden campaigned on “The Plan, uppercase T uppercase P”, while apparently using an accent.

She continued by referring to “The Plan” and said “we’re expected to defend ‘The Plan’ even when the first time we roll it out there may be some glitches and it’s time to reevaluate and do it again”.

Apparently ignoring that analogy, many on Twitter and Republican figures began asking if Ms Harris had attempted to sound French in front of scientists, with many critics accusing her of being an “embarrassment”.

Lavern Spicer, a Florida Republican congressional candidate, was among those who accused the Democrat of making a faux pas and wrote: “Kamala Harris is making a fool of herself in France, talking to folks in some fake French accent”.

“Rumour has it that she even said ‘I know some French, Lady Marmalade is my theme song,” Ms Spicer added, referring to the song by Christinia Aguilera with French lyrics and featuring the infamous Moulin Rouge.

While that song choice remains unconfirmed, another Republican appeared on Fox News to attack Ms Harris for the so-called “French accent”, with Mike Pompeo saying “it’s more than embarrassing on the world stage”.

“Our adversaries watch that and see weakness,” said the former secretary of state for Donald Trump, who once called the country of Belgium a “beautiful city”, and where roughly 40 per cent of the population speak French as a first language.

Many meanwhile fought for Ms Harris and argued that she was not “faking a French accent or speaking bad French“, with music writer Ricky Davila tweeting that she was “fluent in French“ and that news media in the country were in fact “praising her visit”. Her language skills are unconfirmed.

Others pointed to the fact that the Democrat had even attended high school in Montreal, the biggest city in Canada’s French-speaking Québec province, and that her efforts in Paris last week were not “fake”.

Some went as far as accusing Republicans of misogyny, with a Twitter user writing: “Her crime is the same a Meghan Markle’s – Harris is an intelligent, energetic woman of colour. Their crime is breaking the Law of Misogynoir in the first degree.”

The furore following Ms Harris trip to France – which was partially to repair America’s alliances in Europe in the aftermath of Mr Trump’s presidency – came amid record low approval ratings for both her and Mr Biden, and reports that her aides were “frustrated” with the US president for handing her difficult work, which was allegedly holding her back as vice president.

Both Ms Harris and the White House have since attacked that report, which her press secretary called “gossip”.