French Minister Complains After Secret Recording of Talk with Firefighter Unions Leaks
Listen to the story
Laurent Nuñez is a minister in France. He met with union workers from the fire service. They talked about problems at work.
Someone recorded the meeting. Nuñez did not know about this. He said, "I have never seen this before."
Later, the recording became public. This is called a leak. Nuñez was not happy about it.
The talk was about volunteer firefighters. Some people say these workers do "hidden work". This means work that is not official.
There is also a story about lies about fires. Nuñez said he made a "mistake", not a lie. Another minister, Lecornu, blamed a news website called Mediapart.
Vocabulary15 words
- minister
- an important person who works in the government
- union
- a group that helps workers
- leak
- when secret information becomes public
- hidden work
- work that is not shown or reported officially
- mistake
- something wrong you did not do on purpose
- firefighter
- a person who stops fires
- volunteer
- a person who works without pay
- record
- to save sound or video of something
- government
- the group that runs a country
- public
- known by everyone
- meeting
- when people talk together
- official
- approved by the government
- news website
- a place online with news
- blame
- to say someone did something wrong
- worker
- a person who does a job
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Quiz
Answer key
1. Laurent Nuñez 2. It leaked to the public 3. False
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Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Laurent Nuñez is a _____ in France. He met with _____ workers from the fire service.
Someone _____ the meeting. Nuñez did not know about this.
Later, the recording became _____. This is called a leak.
The talk was about _____ firefighters. Some people say these workers do "hidden work".
Nuñez said he made a _____, not a lie. Another minister, Lecornu, _____ a news website called Mediapart.
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