The Socialist party today/[MON] seized on the row to lampoon Sarkozy for cynical image-management and duping the French public.

The allegations that the Elysée had stage-managed his Normandy factory visit and speech on jobs, business and the car industry comes after a series of controversies over deliberate manipulation of public appearances by Sarkozy's ministers. In the summer, one minister was accused of bussing in fake customers supportive of his policies to stand in a supermarket as he made a visit.

Meanwhile the president defends himself against the Clearstream scandal... Similarly in Australia, the AWB will, er... remind me again?...

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In Révélation$ (2001), by investigative reporter Denis Robert and ex-Clearstream banker Ernest Backes, Clearstream was accused of being an international platform for money laundering and tax evasion via an illegal system of secret accounts (the "Clearstream Affair"). M Robert was sued and sentenced eight times by the French courts for defamation (Paris court of appeal, October 16, 2008)

In Spring 2004, a "Second Clearstream Affair" began, which attracted more attention in 2006. Peripheral to the primary Clearstream Affair, it accused several French political figures, industrial leaders, and members of the secret services of maintaining secret accounts at Clearstream, which allegedly were used to transfer kickbacks in a France–Taiwan frigates scandal. In this affair M Robert together with M de Villepin, Gergorin, lahoud and Bourges will face trial in September 2009... The president is also defending himself via his lawyers (see Le Monde).

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will urge fellow G20 leaders to introduce a special tax to reduce risky behaviour by banks, the BBC has learned.

Mr Sarkozy wants a levy known as a Tobin Tax to be applied to every financial transaction.

The move is aimed at cutting excessively speculative trades and encouraging long-term decision-making.

But senior EU officials told the BBC that the chances of getting a global agreement were "less than minimal".

The proposal does not yet have the formal backing of the EU or Germany - France's largest trading partner - and according to the BBC's business reporter Joe Lynam, it is widely expected to face resistance from Britain and the US, home to the world's largest financial centres.

The BBC has also learnt that the issue of bankers' pay, especially bonuses, will also be on the agenda at the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, the US, next weekend.

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Tobin or not tobin?... that is the banking question...

From the BBC

The former French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, has gone on trial charged with plotting to discredit President Nicolas Sarkozy.

It is alleged that Mr de Villepin tried to manipulate a judicial investigation to hurt Mr Sarkozy's chances of winning the 2007 presidential election.

If found guilty, Mr de Villepin could face up to five years in jail and a 45,000 euro (£41,000) fine.

The former prime minister denies any wrongdoing.

"I am here because of one man's will. I am here because of the dogged determination of one man, Nicolas Sarkozy, who is also president of the French republic," he told journalists before entering the courtroom.

Meanwhile

from the BBC

A former French president seems likely to raise eyebrows with his new novel, a fictional tale of a president's love for an English princess.

Le Figaro newspaper, which has read the book, said the main characters appear to resemble the author, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, and the late Princess Diana.

Giscard d'Estaing, 83, is praised for the novel's wealth of authentic detail.

But analysts say he could be inviting ridicule with hints of an affair with a woman more than 30 years his junior.

 I kissed her hand and she gave me a questioning look, her slate grey eyes widening as she tilted her head gently forward, Quote from the novel The Princess and the President
In The Princess and the President - of which Le Figaro obtained a draft copy - Giscard d'Estaing tells the story of fictional President Jacques-Henri Lambertye's affair with Princess Patricia of Cardiff, the newspaper says.

The couple meet at a G7 summit at Buckingham Palace, the newspaper says.

In his first-person account, President Lambertye describes the princess as "very pretty, always in the media and unhappy at home", as well as having a passion for charity work, suggesting comparisons with Diana, Princess of Wales.

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Ah... L'Affaire Dreadful!...

France's six-month presidency of the EU in 2008 was one of the most expensive in history, costing about one million euros (£907,000) daily, officials say.

The French Court of Accounts put the total cost of the July-December 2008 presidency at 171m euros.

Usually the rotating presidency of the EU costs 70-80m euros. Only Germany has previously spent as much on it as France, the AFP news agency reports.

The Union of the Mediterranean summit in Paris alone cost 16.6m euros.

"The scale of this summit, the irregular nature of its procedures and its massive impact on public finances together make this summit a kind of record," the court report said.

It noted that France spent more than 1m euros on the summit dinner for 43 heads of state and 653,703 euros on air conditioning, among other expenses. Big temporary tents and restaurants were installed for the occasion, on 13 July 2008.

see toon at top

From the SMH

PARIS: Tall security agents have been discreetly advised not to apply for a job guarding the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, police sources say.

Mr Sarkozy, who stands about 165 centimetres, is said to have banned tall bodyguards even though they are able to spot potential attackers in a crowd.

A police source told Le Parisien that ''there's no point recruiting supermen'' as ''large-sized'' candidates stood little chance of being hired.

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Gus: see toon at top... And by the way my apologies to Napoleon... He was at least 10 centimetres taller than Sarkozy... It was only the Poms who, in their propaganda efforts to ridicule the man, spread the rumor that he was a short little man... The man himself said it best -- "History is a set of lies that people have agreed upon." .