Brooklyn space cadets MGMT have spoken about their feud with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Sarkozy leads the UMP Party, who used the band’s track ‘Kids’ without permission. Representatives of the American band have threated to sue the party, after the song appeared at their national congress and twice in online campaigns.
To rub salt into the wounds, Sarkozy offered to pay the band one Euro in compensation. MGMT’s French lawyers branded the offer “insulting” and “disrespectful”.
To add insult to injury, the UMP Party is currently attempting to pass tougher laws on file sharing.
In an interview with BBC6 Music Andrew Van Wyngarden said the row “struck us as a little odd”.
He added: “There’s kind of weird things happening, but somehow we’re influencing French politics. That’s cool.”
Wyngarden suggested that the party may have picked up on the song after MGMT appeared on French TV dressed “as pilgrims and like, had a Thai masseuse”.
His bandmate, Ben Goldwasser, added: “If that’s the image that they want to be promoting that’s actually maybe a good thing, it might be a nice change.”
The case is ongoing.
