‘Ni**As In Paris’ Is In A French Political Ad, Proving Their Elections Are Cooler Than Ours

Jay-Z and Kanye’s “Ni**as in Paris” has inspired at least two different Owen Wilson Midnight in Paris mashups, a video game, an “LOL wut?” cover by Katy Perry, and a pro-literacy parody. Now it might also inspire Parisians to vote.

The song was used in the campaign ad below for Francois Hollande, the French Socialist challenger who likely trounced incumbent president Nicolas Sarkozy in the first round of voting. A second round will be held in a couple weeks, so Hollande — who has three campaign advisors who lived in the U.S. and closely studied Obama’s 2008 presidential win — is trying to drive grassroots support within the suburbs of Paris, areas with high populations of racial minorities and immigrants with whom Sarkozy has a poor track record.

Hollande’s strategy to appeal to young, disaffected Parisians is to release a campaign video called “48 H avec FH” which shows him speaking to people in the outer boroughs of Paris while voters from all backgrounds proudly show off their voter cards. The scenes are set to “Ni**as in Paris” and were filmed primarily in a town just north of Paris. The location is called Creil. Guess how it’s pronounced. This sh*t Creil…

(H/T: Slate, Vulture, Pitchfork)

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