‘Off we go’ or ‘let’s get going’ can be translated in several ways. ‘On-y-va’, ‘allons-y’… but have you heard ‘En voiture Simone’?

Simone de Borde des Forest was one of the first ever female racing drivers. She raced from 1929 until 1957 without a single accident in a field almost completely dominated by men and died in 2004 aged 94.

In the 1960’s the expression became popular thanks to the presenters of a TV game show ‘Intervilles’ and their popular song, “Le tango d’Intervilles” with the somewhat sexist line “En voiture Simone, c’est moi qui conduis, c’est toi qui klaxonnes !”

En voiture Simone

Comments


  1. I remember, as a child in the early 60s, watching Guy Lux and Simone Garnier present Intervilles. They were later lampooned in an Asterix book. The show itself was precursor to It’s A Knockout!

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