French word flou: blurred

The French word flou has many synonyms such as:

vague = vague (same adjective in French and English)
confus = confused, vague
imprécis = vague, hazy
ambigu = ambiguous

When it qualifies a feminine noun, the French word flou takes a finale "e" and it agrees with the plural too. It can be employed in different contexts and can express a reality or an image like in the examples below:

Les visages sur cette peinture paraissent très flous ; on les distingue difficilement.
The faces in this picture are very blurry ; we can hardly see/recognise them.

Je n'ai pas bien saisi le sens de son discours ; ses explications étaient plutôt floues.
I did not understand the meaning of his speech very well ; his explanations were rather vague.

Il est resté vague (flou) quant aux raisons de son départ.
He remained vague about the reasons of his departure.

J'ai du mal à apercevoir les panneaux dans ce brouillard, tout est flou.
I can hardly see the boards in this fog, everything is blurry (hazy).

Elle ne se rappelle plus de ce qu'elle a fait au cours de ces dernières 24 heures et ses derniers souvenirs sont extrêmement flous.
She does not remember what she did over these last 24 hours and her last memories are extremely vague.

Idioms using the French word flou :

Avoir une vague idée de qqch = to have a vague idea /some idea
Connaître vaguement qqn = to know sbdy vaguely
Sujet flou (m) = unfocused subject
Avoir un vague souvenir de qqch ou qqn = a vague memory
Etre dans le 088204= to be confused
Nager en plein flou = to be completely lost (in a subject, in one's thoughts)
Flou artistique (m) = vagueness that is wanted.

The French word flou in context:

Avril 2008. Nicolas Sarkozy reste flou au moment de tirer le bilan.

Lors de son dernier discours télévisé suivi par une dizaine de millions de Français, le Président n'a reconnu qu'à moitié ses torts et les place sur le compte d'échange confus avec ses concitoyens.

De plus, Nicolas Sarkozy s'est montré imprécis quant aux principales affaires et changement qu'il a opéré en politique lors de sa première année de présidence.

Les Français n'étaient pas plus confiants après son élocution car, finalement, il ne leur a pas apporté ce dont ils avaient besoin, c'est-à-dire des garanties.

Le pays a vu son pouvoir d'achat diminuer dramatiquement au cours de ces derniers mois et l'aspect économique de la France n'est guère mieux.

Côté social, les nouvelles lois du Gouvernement de Droite ne satisfont pas, mais les Français savent que ces changements vont prendre du temps, et ils se montrent très patients.

Cependant, cela n'excuse en rien l'ambiguïté du Président qui dénonce des "fautes" partagées dans ses échanges avec les Français et ne remet nullement en cause sa politique. Il blâme la forme mais certainement pas le fond.

Inspired by:
http://www.liberation.fr/actualite/politiques/323323.FR.php

English translation

April 2008. Nicolas Sarkozy remained vague when drawing his conclusions.

During his last televised speech viewed by tens of thousands of French (people), the President only partially recognised he was wrong and blamed the confused exchanges of information with his fellow-citizens.

What is more, Nicolas Sarkozy gave unspecified explanations about the main issues and political changes he carried out during his first year as a President.

The French did not feel more confidence (in him) after his speech given that, in the end, he did not bring them what they needed, that is to say, some guarantees.

The country saw its purchasing power decrease dramatically over these last months and France's economic situation is not better.

On the social side of things, the new laws of the Conservative Government do not satisfy the people, but the French know that these changes require time, and they are trying to be very patient.

However, this does not justify the President's ambiguity as he denounces the shared "mistakes" in his exchanges of information with the French but does not question his policy. He blamed the style but certainly not the content.

Vocabulary

le bilan (m) = balance sheet.
tirer (v) = to draw, to pull up (chair, socks), to pull away (rug) ; to shoot, fire (sports, gun)
tirer le bilan = drawing conclusions
le tort (m) = fault / avoir tort = to be wrong / à tort (adv) = wrongly.
le concitoyen (m) = fellow citizen.
l'affaire (f) = affair, crisis, scandal, case, matter, business
guèrir (v) = to cure, to heal, to recover, to bring relief.
le côté (m) = side, side of things ; respect, aspect, -wise
la faute (f) = error, mistake, miscalculation.
partagé / partagée (adj m/f) = mutual, shared, divided, mixed.
le fond (m) = bottom.

Written and compiled by Charlotte Chateau.

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