How I almost got into a fistfight in Cannes.

A rant of sorts.

The Cannes Lions Festival is incredible. It is the most revered annual advertising event of the year. The flight to get here is long, the hotels are overpriced and the delegate ticket is pricy. And the waiters are snotty.

It matters to me, and to thousands of others like me, to be here. The speakers and the seminars are world-class The chance to hear wisdom — in person– from some of the best and brightest creative minds in the world is unmatched.

So why oh WHY do people park themselves in the Grand Audi theatre then proceed to start phoning people during a speaker’s talk? They chatter merrily away as we all strain forward to hear the speaker on stage. In today’s case it was Jared Leto’s talk. But it’s about the 16th time this has happened this week.

I’ve tried a gentle raised eyebrow in the direction of the perpetrator. Next line of defence, a smile with a gently mimed “shhhh”. Then the default to slightly irritated body language. All to no effect.

Still the stupidity continues. Finally, today, I had one cellphone bozo too many. I put away my deeply ingrained Canadian politeness. I told him to turn off his phone or take the bloody call somewhere else, and that he was being incredibly ignorant. We stared fixedly at each other. His beady eyes focused on me. A moment passed. Then he put his phone away.

It could have been uglier. It could have turned into a fistfight. But you know what? I could have taken him. Never bet against an angry Canadian woman. Especially one with jet lag.