French Socialist presidential candidate François Hollande -- who leads incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy after the first round of voting -- has co-opted Jay-Z and Kanye West's anthem "Ni*as In Paris" for his latest campaign ad. The song backgrounds footage that shows Hollande campaigning in the outer Parisian suburbs among people of various ethnic backgrounds, as they hold up their voter registration cards. And Slate helpfully points out: "Creil," one of the suburbs Hollande campaigns in during the ad, is pronounced "cray" as in, "That sht Creil."
Despite the perhaps questionable song choice, Hollande's general play is a smart one -- Sarkozy has a lousy history with the outer regions of the Paris metro area, where a high percentage of racial minority and immigrant populations live. The next round of voting is May 6.
(Not Safe For Work, Kanye and Jay-Z)