diff --git a/odoo/sql_db.py b/odoo/sql_db.py
index 55c420f9d13..922540220b7 100644
--- a/odoo/sql_db.py
+++ b/odoo/sql_db.py
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ class Cursor(object):
             res = self._obj.execute(query, params)
         except Exception as e:
             if self._default_log_exceptions if log_exceptions is None else log_exceptions:
-                _logger.error("bad query: %s\nERROR: %s", self._obj.query.decode() or query, e)
+                _logger.error("bad query: %s\nERROR: %s", tools.ustr(self._obj.query or query), e)
             raise
 
         # simple query count is always computed