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French Presidential Hopeful Uses 'Ni**as in Paris' in Campaign Ad

Socialist Francois Hollande features Jay-Z and Kanye West's anthem in new video

Jay-Z and Kanye West perform during the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York.
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
April 24, 2012 12:15 PM ET

French presidential candidate Francois Hollande has a new campaign ad soundtracked by Jay-Z and Kanye West's massive stadium anthem "Ni**as in Paris," Slate reports

The ad shows clips of Hollande traveling to and interacting with residents of Parisian suburbs. It is believed that Hollande's clip is designed to underscore incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy's tumultuous relationship with these diverse, often impoverished areas (in 2005 as interior minister, he said he'd clean out the suburbs with a power hose).

After the first round of voting on Sunday, Hollande leads Sarkozy. Since neither candidate took a majority of votes, a second round will be held in two weeks. 

As Slate also notes, the video has made possible a superb pun: The town Hollande visits is Creil, which is pronounced "cray." You can fill in the rest.

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