In a show called Ici et maintenant, host Pénélope McQuade challenges people to live in the present and take responsibility for their lives.
In the first episode, Pénélope surprises a man called Alexandre by showing up at his home very early in the morning. But… Pénélope shows up at his home in a fire truck.
Alexandre works as an engineer, but it was always his dream to become a fireman (pompier). So when Pénélope shows up at his house, she offers him the chance to train as a fireman for a day.
Alexandre will decide whether his childhood dream is something that he should make reality now, ici et maintenant.
When Pénélope asks Alexandre how he feels about spending the day training as a fireman, he becomes emotional and says:
En deux mots — j’ai l’motton.
With the expression avoir le motton, Alexandre said that he was all choked up with emotion, that he had a lump in his throat. He’s choked up because he’ll discover once and for all whether he should abandon his career as an engineer and go in the direction of what he’s always wanted to do.
At the time of writing this, Ici et maintenant can be viewed on tou.tv.
[Quote from Ici et maintenant, season 1, episode 1, Radio-Canada, Montreal, 14 January 2012.]
Pour en savoir plus sur le «motton» : http://oreilletendue.com/2012/04/02/du-motton/