D’abord, je pense que je suis aussi fan d’Hichem que vous! I think I’m as much a fan of Hichem as you are! “Thé à la menthe” is one of my favorite chansons (songs), et j’adore Vincent Cassel. 
Sa femme n’est pas mal non plus (his wife isn’t bad either)—vous connaissez Monica Bellucci ?
Motivée par « Thé à la menthe », on parle aujourd’hui (we’re talking today) about another example of a French song in a mainstream American movie. In this case, it’s actually une série (a TV series) that was spun into two movies…
Vous connaissez Sex and the City?
Le deuxième film sort aujourd’hui (the second film comes out today), but I still love the show best. Surtout la fin de la dernière saison (especially the end of the last season), when Carrie goes to Paris!
Of course, it’s a cartoon Paris, of ridiculous costumes, glittering lights, pastel bonbons and intimidating women. (The lights and the women are fair, actually.) Carrie’s Paris is as inauthentic as her New York (sorry, SATC bus tours). But it was still fun to watch as Carrie fled New York for le rêve de Paris, which didn’t end as well as she had hoped.
The pivotal scene of Carrie’s disillusionment with Paris is played at Place de la Concorde, a plaza au pied (at the foot) of the Champs Elysées, face à (facing) l’Hôtel Crillon, a famous hôtel de luxe (luxury hotel). Carrie runs through traffic in a billowing tutu, while la Tour Eiffel étincelle (sparkles) over the Seine.
« La Belle et le bad boy, » une chanson de MC Solaar, accompagne sa fuite (« The Belle and the bad boy, » a song by MC Solaar, accompanies her flight). I love the arrangement of the song, and it’s poignant and catchy against Carrie’s Paris misadventure. C’est dommage (it’s too bad) that a non-Francophone picked the song, because the lyrics n’ont rien à voir (have nothing to do with) la scène.
Tout de même, it’s an iconic scene, and je parie (I bet) a lot of you will remember the song. Voici les paroles, ainsi qu’une traduction en anglais (here are the word, as well as a translation in English). If you’re gearing up for the movie today, I hope this brings back memories. Either way, I’m sure MC Solaar will teach you some new words! Bonne journée!
PS Joyeux anniversaire, maman! Happy birthday, Mom!
La Belle et le bad boy, MC Solaar
Ils s’etaient rencontres sur les bancs d’l'ecole
[They met back in school]
Entre une heure de colle de maths ou d’un cours d’espagnol
[Between a math class and a spanish class]
C’etait un fille fun fana de football
[She was a fun girl, a soccer fan]
Lui ne craignait pas les balles, c’etait le goal
[But he didn't fear balls, it was the goal]
C’qu’il lui promettait c’etait des ballades en Corvette
[Only thing he promised was rides in a Corvette]
Pour l’instant en survet, il volait des mobylettes
[But for now, he was stealing scooters]
Mais entre eux c’etait toujours complicite
[Between them there was always complicity]
Escale sur un piedestal un reve delimite
[Stop on a pedestal, a clear dream]
S’il devenait triangle, elle serait rectangle
[If he became triangle, she would be rectangle]
La belle et le bad boy, le triangle rectangle
[The beauty and the bad boy, the triangular rectangle]
C’est comme passer de Joe Dassin a Jodeci
[It's like going from Joe Dassin to Jodeci]
Un vrai truc de ouf style pur clip de R&B
[A real R&B videoclip drama]
Elle vit le grand amour, qui commence dans la cour
[She's living the great love, that begins in the court]
Se poursuit dans les tours et rime toujours avec toujours
[Continues during tours and always rhymes with 'toujours']
Mais le contexte est plus fort que le concept
[But the context is sronger than the concept]
Son mec se jette dans les flammes et il se lave avec.
[Her man jumps into the flames and bathes in them]
Chorus:
Les sous ensembles dans les grands ensembles s’assemblent
[Small ensembles in big ensembles assemble]
La belle et le bad boy(x3)
[The beauty and the bad boy]
Les sous ensembles dans les grands ensembles s’assemblent
[Small ensembles in big ensembles assemble]
Les sous ensembles dans les grands ensembles s’assemblent
[Small ensembles in big ensembles assemble]
Pour gagner des sous ensemble
[To win money together]
Parlent sans faire semblant de faire des coups ensemble
[Talk without giving the impression of doing business together]
Et si c’est sanglant. Ils plaident devant Dieu ensemble. Vu
[And when it gets bloody, they plead God together. See.]
Ils etait convaincant, elle etait convaicue
[They were convinving, She was convinced]
A croire qu’aujourd’hui s’arreter etait exclu
[To think today that stopping was out of the question]
Ils trafiquent des faux billets avec des reseaux slaves.
[They traffic counterfeit money with Slavic networks]
Balancent la concurence. en France c’est un delit grave.
[Beat the competition. In France it's a serious offense]
Risque pour les pommettes, les mecs sortent des baumettes.
lui n’a qu’un truc en tete, c’est la quete de sa Corvette.
Ambiance paranoiaque. L’equipe adverse traine
[Paranoiac environment, the adverse team lags behind]
Des projectiles partent quand une BM freine
[Projectiles go off when a BMW brakes]
Quand elle tombe, il a les larmes aux yeux
[When she falls, tears drops off his eyes]
Deux balles de 22. Vingt deux ans adieu
[Two .22 bullets. Twenty two(years old) Goodbye]
Le contexte est plus fort que le concept
[The Context is stronger than the concept]
Son mec s’est jette dans les flammes il faut qu’il se lave avec
[Her man jumps into the flames He has to bathe in them]
