by Charles Bremner, Paris

NICOLAS Sarkozy has demanded the withdrawal from French bookshops of a voodoo doll resembling him and a set of pins that are being sold with a manual on how to put the evil eye on the French President.



Presidential lawyer Thierry Herzog has told the K&B publishing firm that if it fails to halt sales of its joke voodoo kit, Mr Sarkozy will sue them for using his image.

The threat is the latest in a series of legal actions taken by Mr Sarkozy to protect his image, in a break with the tradition under which French presidents have avoided litigation against their detractors.

"Super Sarko" last week sued Yves Bertrand, the former chief of the police intelligence service, for circulating tales about his sex life and finances.

Nicolas Sarkozy: The Voodoo Manual, by Yael Rolognese, is supposed to be satire. "Thanks to spells concocted by Yael Rolognese, a witchcraft specialist, you can put the bad eye on Sarkozy and stop him causing more damage," says the publicity for the kit, which includes a satirical biography of the President.

Famous quotes from and references to the "hyper president" are printed on parts of the doll's anatomy, with the invitation to plant one of the 12 pins in them. The quotes include "Work more to earn more" and "Get lost, loser" -- his words to a bystander who refused to shake his hand last year.

The doll -- 20,000 are in circulation -- is matched by another featuring Segolene Royal, the Socialist whom Mr Sarkozy defeated in last year's presidential election.

Politicians gave a mixed reaction to the doll, with some MPs calling it harmless fun, but others denouncing it as bad taste, obscene and even dangerous.

K&B has refused to obey the order to remove the voodoo kits from shops. "It is totally disproportionate, given the humorous aspect of the project and the fact that Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal are political public figures," the company said.

Ms Royal's lawyer told Le Monde newspaper her voodoo effigy was an "insult to her human dignity" and said she was considering legal action too.

In January, Mr Sarkozy sued Ryanair for using his image in a jocular advertisement. He sued magazine Le Nouvel Observateur last spring.

The Times

French court allows Sarkozy voodoo doll

Reuters

PARIS: A French court on Wednesday rejected President Nicolas Sarkozy's demand for a ban on a Sarkozy doll and voodoo manual that encourages readers to stick pins in it.

The doll is emblazoned with some of Sarkozy's most famous quotes, such as "Get lost you pathetic arsehole" -- his words to a bystander who refused to shake his hand at an agricultural exhibition in 2007. The manual recommends planting pins in that quote and others.

The court said the voodoo doll was "within the authorised boundaries of freedom of expression and the right to humour." It rejected Sarkozy's argument that the doll violated his right to his own image.

Publishing company K&B, which has issued 20,000 copies of the manual and doll, will be allowed to continue selling the items.

Voodoo is a religion rooted in West Africa that is practised in parts of the Caribbean and the southern United States.

According to widespread belief, voodoo worshippers plant pins in dolls representing their enemies to curse them. However, voodoo experts say outsiders have misunderstood the practice.