I have heard the following line in the TV series Marseille:

• C'est vrai que j'ai rien fait pour les cités. Honnêtement, je ne sais pas comme prendre ce truc. Il faudrait de l'argent, en y a pas. Du boulot en y a pas. On y a rien. Qu'est-ce que vous voulez qu' on leur donne?

Context: The mayor is talking to one of his allies about the problems in the Félix Pyat neighborhood in Marseille after an argument with some people who live there.

When I heard the dialogue, I thought the mayor meant "What do you want us to give them?" in his last line, i.e. he was asking his ally for suggestions to solve the Félix Pyat neighborhood problems. However, his ally has answered nothing, so it seems to be a rhetorical question. The English subtitles translation confirms it: "What are we supposed to give them?". In English, it is unlikely that a question with "what do you want" is rhetorical.

It seems to me that it would be clearer if he said "Qu'est-ce que ils veulent qu' on leur donne?", given that who wants any improvement in the neighborhood is the people who live there and the press ("ils"), not the ally the mayor is talking to. Are both sentences equally usual?

I have heard the following line in the TV series Marseille:

• C'est vrai que j'ai rien fait pour les cités. Honnêtement, je ne sais pas comment prendre ce truc. Il faudrait de l'argent, y'en a pas. Du boulot, y'en a pas. On a rien. Qu'est-ce que vous voulez qu'on leur donne  ?

Context: The mayor is talking to one of his allies about the problems in the Félix Pyat neighborhood in Marseille after an argument with some people who live there.

When I heard the dialogue, I thought the mayor meant "What do you want us to give them?" in his last line, i.e. he was asking his ally for suggestions to solve the Félix Pyat neighborhood problems. However, his ally has answered nothing, so it seems to be a rhetorical question. The English subtitles translation confirms it: "What are we supposed to give them?". In English, it is unlikely that a question with "what do you want" is rhetorical.

It seems to me that it would be clearer if he said "Qu'est-ce qu'ils veulent qu'on leur donne  ?", given that who wants any improvement in the neighborhood is the people who live there and the press ("ils"), not the ally the mayor is talking to. Are both sentences equally usual?

I have heard the following line in the TV series Marseille:

• C'est vrai que j'ai rien fait pour les cités. Honnêtement, je ne sais pas comme prendre ce truc. Il faudrait de l'argent, en y a pas. Du boulot en y a pas. On y a rien. Qu'est-ce que vous voulez qu' on leur donne?

Context: The mayor is talking to one of his allies about the problems in the Félix Pyat neighborhood in Marseille after an argument with some people who live there.

When I heard the dialogue, I thought the mayor meant "What do you want us to give them?" in his last line, i.e. he was asking his ally for suggestions to solve the Félix Pyat neighborhood problems. However, his ally has answered nothing, so it seems to be a rhetorical question. The English subtitles translation confirms it: "What are we supposed to give them?".

It seems to me that it would be clearer if he said "Qu'est-ce que ils veulent qu' on leur donne?", given that who wants any improvement in the neighborhood is the people who live there and the press ("ils"), not the ally the mayor is talking to. Are both sentences usual? What is the reasoning of using "vous" instead of "ils" in this context?

I have heard the following line in the TV series Marseille:

• C'est vrai que j'ai rien fait pour les cités. Honnêtement, je ne sais pas comme prendre ce truc. Il faudrait de l'argent, en y a pas. Du boulot en y a pas. On y a rien. Qu'est-ce que vous voulez qu' on leur donne?

Context: The mayor is talking to one of his allies about the problems in the Félix Pyat neighborhood in Marseille after an argument with some people who live there.

When I heard the dialogue, I thought the mayor meant "What do you want us to give them?" in his last line, i.e. he was asking his ally for suggestions to solve the Félix Pyat neighborhood problems. However, his ally has answered nothing, so it seems to be a rhetorical question. The English subtitles translation confirms it: "What are we supposed to give them?". In English, it is unlikely that a question with "what do you want" is rhetorical.

It seems to me that it would be clearer if he said "Qu'est-ce que ils veulent qu' on leur donne?", given that who wants any improvement in the neighborhood is the people who live there and the press ("ils"), not the ally the mayor is talking to. Are both sentences equally usual?