June 18, 2010
For short French president Nicolas Sarkozy - he of the stacked heels and bouffant hair - height is evidently more of a sore point than hitherto thought.
Already accused of refusing to stand next to tall people (in other words anyone over his 5ft 5ins) on TV, Sarkozy's latest move involved sending staff ahead to a factory he is due to visit to 'whittle out the tall ones'.
Sarkozy is scheduled to visit the Turbomeca aeronautics factory near Toulouse on June 22. Preparations have been underway for some time, and Guru was amused to hear that tall staff are not to be allowed to stand near him. A Turbomeca engineer told local paper La Republique des Pyrenees: "I am almost six feet tall and I was told I was not to be allowed near the official reception group".
According to the paper "It seems people at the factory decided it was better to yield to the president's wishes than face exile to the land of the pygmies".
Let it be noted - Guru, often accused of being less than charitable about his frog-eating cousins - loves French newspapers ...
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