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30 October 2008
PARIS – A French court on Wednesday dismissed a mocked attempt by President Nicolas Sarkozy to ban a comedy voodoo doll bearing his image.
Sarkozy’s lawyer said the president would appeal the decision.
Earlier in October, Sarkozy filed a suit against the makers of the doll, which is on sale in a kit containing needles to spear it with and a satirical biography, immediately increasing sales of the item.
It was the president’s sixth lawsuit since he was elected in 2007 and caused amusement in France, producing free publicity for the doll and support for his political opponents.
"I have a sense of humour", said Segolene Royal, Sarkozy’s Socialist opponent in the 2007 election, when asked if she planned to take action against her own voodoo doll, which is sold alongside Sarkozy’s.
The judge at the high court in Paris ruled that the doll falls within "the authorised limits of free expression and the right to humour".
Following Sarkozy’s decision to sue, the voodoo kit became the best-selling item on the online bookseller Amazon’s French site.
[AFP / Expatica]