How many points do you get for the word "scandale"?
A sidelight scandale flared in France this week after a deputy in the French National Assembly was shown playing Scrabble on his iPad during the ongoing debate over same-sex marriage.
Among the words that could be deciphered in photographs were "gache," which is French for wasted, and "mufle," which is cad or oaf.
The Scrabble player, Deputy Thomas Thevenoud, was as unapologetic as a French politician caught with a mistress, telling Le Parisien newspaper that he was part of a group of legislators who played the word game as debate rumbled on.
"I confirm that we were trying to keep our brain cells working at 3 in the morning," declared Mr. Thevenoud. "When we manage to get 102 points at 3 in the morning, I wouldn't say we are proud of our achievements, but it does reassure us somewhat."
Another deputy, Jerome Guedj, tweeted from the Assembly floor that he sometimes plays Scrabble, reads a newspaper and phones his plumber because drawn-out debates drift and drone into what he called "endless amendments" and "pointless discussions."
Lawmaker Marc Le Fur's Tweet
Oups ! Il ne s'agit pas de Guillaume Bachelay mais d'un autre Dput Socialiste ! Mes excuses Guillaume Bachelay. twitter.com/marclefur/stat…
— Marc Le Fur (@marclefur) February 5, 2013