'I See Some of Them Looking for Returns of 20 or 25 Percent, at a Time When Fellatio is Almost Non-Existent'

I was really worried there for a minute thinking fellatio was becoming non-existent.

Glamorous French politician Rachida Dati has been forced to issue a public apology after confusing oral sex with inflation.

The 44-year-old former justice minister and MEP is frequently nicknamed ‘Rachida Barbie’ because of her poor understanding of complicated political issues.

But nobody expected her extraordinary mistake on the national Europe 1 radio station on Sunday.

Asked about overseas investment funds profiteering during a period of economic uncertainty, she said: ‘I see some of them looking for returns of 20 or 25 per cent, at a time when fellatio is almost non-existent.’

In French, fellatio – a sex act performed on a man – is ‘fellation’, which sounds a bit like inflation, which is the same word in French and English.

Apologising for the hugely embarrassing slip on her Facebook site, Miss Dati said: ‘This kind of thing happens if you speak too quickly on this kind of programme.’

The single mother of one added : ‘It is unfortunate that this is the only political message that has been received on such a serious subject.’

Miss Dati was fired from President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government last year because of her inability to do her job properly, and her frivolous nature.