Sarkozy fails in attempt to get voodoo likeness bannedAngela Balakrishnan and agencies guardian.co.uk, Wednesday October 29 2008 16.58 GMT
Article history
A voodoo puppet in the image of French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Photograph: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty images
The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, today saw his demand for a ban on a voodoo doll in his image rejected by a court.
The court said the doll was deliberately aimed at "satire and humour" and was within the "authorised boundaries of freedom of expression".
It rejected Sarkozy's argument that the doll, which comes with a manual encouraging owners to stick pins in it, violated his right to his own image.
The publishing company K&B, which is behind the doll, argued that humour was part of the freedom of expression.
The doll is emblazoned with Sarkozy quotes including: "Get lost, you pathetic arsehole" - his response to a bystander who refused to shake his hand at an agricultural exhibition last year.
The word racaille – the inflammatory term Sarkozy used to describe suburban Parisian rioters in the autumn of 2005 - is written on its groin. Owners are urged to stick pins in the phrases.
K&B, which has manufactured 20,000 dolls and copies of the manual, will be allowed to continue selling them.
The kit, complete with satirical biography, topped Amazon's bestseller list in France soon after Sarkozy tried to get it banned. It has been on sale since the beginning of the month.
Voodoo, practised in parts of the Caribbean and the southern US, derives from west and central Africa ancestral religions.
Sarkozy has launched several lawsuits since taking office last June.
Although less reserved than previous French presidents about his personal life, Sarkozy sued the budget airline Ryanair after it released a poster featuring him with his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, in January. He won the case.
Last week, he sued the former head of the French police intelligence service after extracts from his notebooks were published.
He claimed they included unsubstantiated allegations about his private life and financial affairs.
Article history
A voodoo puppet in the image of French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Photograph: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty images
The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, today saw his demand for a ban on a voodoo doll in his image rejected by a court.
The court said the doll was deliberately aimed at "satire and humour" and was within the "authorised boundaries of freedom of expression".
It rejected Sarkozy's argument that the doll, which comes with a manual encouraging owners to stick pins in it, violated his right to his own image.
The publishing company K&B, which is behind the doll, argued that humour was part of the freedom of expression.
The doll is emblazoned with Sarkozy quotes including: "Get lost, you pathetic arsehole" - his response to a bystander who refused to shake his hand at an agricultural exhibition last year.
The word racaille – the inflammatory term Sarkozy used to describe suburban Parisian rioters in the autumn of 2005 - is written on its groin. Owners are urged to stick pins in the phrases.
K&B, which has manufactured 20,000 dolls and copies of the manual, will be allowed to continue selling them.
The kit, complete with satirical biography, topped Amazon's bestseller list in France soon after Sarkozy tried to get it banned. It has been on sale since the beginning of the month.
Voodoo, practised in parts of the Caribbean and the southern US, derives from west and central Africa ancestral religions.
Sarkozy has launched several lawsuits since taking office last June.
Although less reserved than previous French presidents about his personal life, Sarkozy sued the budget airline Ryanair after it released a poster featuring him with his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, in January. He won the case.
Last week, he sued the former head of the French police intelligence service after extracts from his notebooks were published.
He claimed they included unsubstantiated allegations about his private life and financial affairs.
