During an attempt to insult Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) during the Republican debate Wednesday night, Jeb Bush ended up ticking off an entire country.

Bush was trying to get the point across that because Rubio has been on the campaign trail, he's missed several votes in the Senate. "The Senate, what is it like, a French work week?" he asked. "You get like three days where you have to show up?" At that point, Gérard Araud, the French ambassador to the United States, quickly tweeted that Bush had made a grosse erreur:

The French work an average of 39,6 hours a week compared to 39,2 for the Germans. https://t.co/22yUVpQbq7 — Gérard Araud (@GerardAraud) October 29, 2015

After slighting the Germans, Araud went on to tout France's maternity leave:

A French work week of 3 days? No but a pregnancy paid leave of 16 weeks yes! And proud of it. — Gérard Araud (@GerardAraud) October 29, 2015

Bush's faux pas wasn't forgotten on Thursday, when French reporter Laura Haim told White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest that it was a "big story in France." Earnest, The Washington Post reports, kept his response light, saying: "I hope you didn't take that personally, Laura. I can vouch for the fact that you certainly work more than most members of Congress." Bush hasn't said anything about his choice of words, but bonne chance getting the francophone vote now. Catherine Garcia