27 September 2010 Last updated at 06:54 ET

French MEP Rachida Dati makes oral sex slip-up

Rachida Dati left the cabinet last year amid criticism of her glamorous lifestyle

France's ex-justice minister Rachida Dati mixed up the words "fellatio" and "inflation" - which sound similar in French - during a TV interview.

She told Canal Plus: "I see some [foreign investment funds] looking for returns of 20 or 25% at a time when fellatio is close to zero."

Within hours, the video was an internet hit on websites such as YouTube.

Ms Dati, now a Euro MP, later laughed off the whole episode saying she had spoken too quickly.

Ms Dati also said she was happy to have provided some entertainment.

The French word for fellatio is "fellation", which sounds similar to the word "inflation".

Ms Dati left the government last year amid criticism of her management style, and gossip about her clothes and love life.

She is now an MEP and serves as mayor of Paris's seventh arrondissement.