Despite several false starts shown in the blooper trail at the beginning of the video, Laplanche eventually managed to deliver his message on behalf of the French government.

“Saya ingin mengucapkan tahniah kepada warganegara Malaysia atas perubahan dengan pilihanraya umum ke-14. Dan tahniah kepada Tun Dr Mahathir di atas perlantikan sebagai perdana menteri Malaysia,” he said in the video which was posted on the embassy’s Facebook page.

(I would like to congratulate all citizens of Malaysia for the change through GE14. And congratulations to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for being appointed as the prime minister.)

Laplanche added that the French government was happy to witness the smooth execution of the democratic process in Malaysia, and hailed the pardon and release of Anwar Ibrahim which he called an achievement for human rights.

Laplanche’s speech is reminiscent of that given in Bejing by French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this year, in which he urged the Chinese to “make the planet great again” in Mandarin.

The French embassy also released a video last year wishing Malaysians “Selamat Hari Merdeka”. In the clip, which was also uploaded to the embassy’s Facebook page, embassy staff conveyed their good wishes in Malay with phrases such as “semoga terus maju dan aman sejahtera”.