A five-car convoy and security detail accompanied former president and "Lolita Express" passenger Bill Clinton to Hermès in Paris for some "retail therapy," People magazine reports:
Clinton, 68, spent more than an hour on the shop's third floor section, where windows were closed after his arrival. The observer speculated: "He's up there, probably buying the store."
He reportedly left with several shopping bags though they're hard to spot in the video below. We can't help but wonder what he purchased and whether Clinton was shopping for himself or his wife and U.S. presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton. The luxury store sells ties for about $225; a leather belt can set you back nearly $1,000.
Hermès is under fire from animal rights groups after an investigation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal (PETA) documented appalling conditions in the alligator farms that provide the material for some of the retailer's most sought after products:
From Texas to Zimbabwe, PETA investigators documented the appalling conditions in which animals are raised and/or killed for "luxury" Birkin bags, belts, and watchbands. Alligators are packed in dank pools and crocodiles are crowded in barren concrete pits for months or even years before finally being slaughtered for their skins.
A PETA investigator documented that workers crudely hacked into the necks of some alligators and tried to scramble their brains with metal rods—all in the name of "luxury." Some animals were still conscious, flailing and kicking, even minutes after workers tried to kill them...
The investigator saw alligators continuing to move their legs and tails in the bleed rack and in bloody ice bins several minutes after their attempted slaughter. After the alligators’ miserable lives and sometimes slow, gruesome deaths, their skins are sent to France and made into "luxury" items such as watchbands.
Sure, this sounds cruel, absent any context. After all, alligators are classified as a "threatened" species under the Endangered Species Act. But it's important to remember that Bill Clinton is a highly-paid public speaker who needs to look sharp when meeting with influential dictators and mining tycoons.
Clinton's wife, Hillary, is running for president to be a "voice for everyday Americans."