French Prime Minister Pretends to Smoke in a Debate about Cannabis

Political debates are usually long and boring but sometimes things happen that add something a little different, striking and even comical to these meetings about which few people would possibly (and unfortunately) discuss afterwards were it not for these moments.

Something similar happened a few days ago in France when a member of parliament asked the country’s Minister of Health, Marisol Touraine, about some protests in support of marijuana legalisation. The Prime Minister Manuel Valls proceeded to pretend to smoke a cannabis cigarette.

As Touraine talked about the trivialization of marijuana consumption, television cameras showed Valls looking to his left, towards another member of parliament who was not identified, before enthusiastically directing his hands towards his mouth and pretending to smoke and then moving his hands up to his head.

The gesture brought to mind statements made by Valls in January 2014 when he was Minister of the Interior, and admitted that during his youth he had “perhaps” tried cannabis.

The situation distracted the attention of the media from the truly important issue being discussed in the Assembly: the fact that the French government will not authorise the legalisation of marijuana. When Touraine was asked about whether she would allow certain protests, such as the one that took place in Paris in favour of legalization where some participants smoked cannabis despite it being banned, the minister responded that "there may be protests asking for things that the government will not permit”.