Socialist presidential candidate Francois Hollande holds a rose as he arrives at Saint-Denis de la Reunion airport in La Reunion island, Saturday, March, 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Fabrice Wislez)

PARIS (AP) — French President Francois Hollande's attempt to sign a note congratulating Barack Obama for getting re-elected wound up lost in translation — and all over Twitter.

In the great Gallic tradition of murdering the English language, Hollande ended the letter to the U.S. president in his own hand, writing: "Friendly, Francois Hollande."

The mistake was a literal translation of the French "amicalement," instead of what probably should have been "kind regards."

It went viral on Twitter, overshadowing the rest of the note, which fleetingly touched on topics such as the Middle East and the economy.

According to local media, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was also weak in English. To excuse bad weather in January 2010, Sarkozy told U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, "Sorry for the time."

Associated Press
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.