Lebanon :French Prime Minister Jean Marc Ayrault's name is creating waves in the Arab world due to his name as his surname, when pronounced, sounds like the word "penis" in Arabic.
The biggest challenge is for television anchors as a Lebanese TV anchor burst out laughing when she read aloud the name of Ayrault.
To avoid embarrassment, some media groups have decided to call him by his first name. Others are spelling his surname Ayrault as Aro, Hairo or Airolt instead of Airo.
The French foreign ministry is offering help. It has suggested that the Arab media pronounce all the letters, unlike in French pronunciation, or that Arab media use the prime minister's initials JMA.
Similar situation was faced in France with Russian President Vladimir Putin name, because his surname sounds like "putain" which means "Prostitute" in the French.
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