Sarkozy wins voodoo doll appeal - sort of

For those of you who have been eagerly awaiting the latest (and possibly final) chapter in the Nicolas Sarkozy Voodoo doll saga, here it is.

He has won his appeal - sort of. Only partially mind you, because the thing will remain on sale, but only if it meets certain conditions.

That was the decision on Friday of an appeals court in Paris, which after a couple of weeks of "reflection" decided that the doll "was insulting to the image" of the French president - a claim he had always made in his attempts to have it withdrawn from circulation.

But at the same time the court refused to ban the doll outright. Instead it said that the manufacturer, Tear Prod, could continue selling it as long as the packaging contained a mention of the court's decision.

Once again, just in case you missed the story first - or even second time around - here's the briefest of recaps.

Full blow-by-blow details can be found here and here.

The doll in question is an effigy of the French president (co-incidentally it's "made in China" which could seem rather ironic to some given Sarkozy's recent problems with Beijing over his decision to meet finally Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama next month - but that's another story) and comes as part of a kit, complete with 12 needles and an instruction manual that quite literally invites the user to "pinpoint" exactly which elements of Sarkozy's policies or character they dislike most.

It originally went on sale on October 9 along, with a similar one representing Ségolène Royal, the defeated Socialist party candidate in last year's presidential election. (20,000 Sarkozy dolls and 15,000 Royal).

Sarkozy, took offence, and through his lawyer, Thierry Herzog, requested that the company which had manufactured and distributed the doll, withdraw it from circulation or risk legal action for "misuse of the president's image".

When the company refused, the case went to court - just one of six civil suits Sarkozy has brought during 18 months in office.

Sarkozy "lost" with the court deciding that the doll "neither constituted an affront on the human dignity (of the president) nor a personal attack," as his lawyer had claimed, and it remained on sale.

A couple of weeks later the case was back in court - this time on appeal - with Herzog arguing once again that the company didn't have the right to use Sarkozy's image and that users might somehow think that by sticking pins into the doll they were actually practising voodoo.

On Friday, the appeals court came through with its ruling.

Yes the doll "constitutes an offence to the dignity" of Sarkozy, but no, a complete ban on its sale would be both "inappropriate and disproportionate".

So it can remain on sale, but the manufacturers must include a mention within the packaging of the court's ruling.

As far as Herzog was concerned , the verdict was one that justified having taken the case to court in the first place.

"I"m completely happy," he said afterwards.

"And there's no regret in having appealed the original decision."

So there you go, a week in this country which has seen the end of two "sagas" from different parts of the political spectrum - just for the sake of balance.

From the centre-right, Sarkozy's voodoo doll "victory" of sorts and from the left of course the battle for the leadership of the country's Socialist party.

Somehow though, with Sarkozy's penchant for civil suits (six during 18 months in office - far more than any other French president in recent history) and Ségolène Royal all but "declaring" herself as a candidate for the Socialist party's presidential nomination in 2012, what's the betting that one or other could be back in the headlines with a similar story in the near future?

Sarkozy's voodoo doll back in court

Just in case you missed it first time around, and for all those who thought it was a story done and dusted, here's an update to the seemingly never-ending saga of Sarkozy's voodoo doll.

An appeals court on Thursday said it would rule later this month on a renewed request from the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, that a voodoo doll made in his image, be withdrawn from shop circulation.

Yes, believe it or not, between cramming in a tête à tête with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev before rushing off to help save the world's financial system at the G20 summit this weekend, fixing European Unions institutions - or not (whatever happened to Lisbon and the Irish "no" vote?) in his six month role as head of the EU, and running the country, the French president has still found the time to pursue what to all appearances could be seen as one of his favourite hobbies - suing.

You might remember from an earlier piece here that Sarkozy has spent quite a chunk of time in court.

All right maybe he hasn't actually pitched up himself, he has a lawyer to do that, but in the course of what is now 18 months in office he has resorted to French justice to pursue civil suits more than any other president in the history of this country's Fifth Republic - six in total.

Indeed it had been 30 years since an incumbent French president had last brought a civil suit, and both his predecessors, Jacques Chirac and François Mitterrand steered clear of the courts while in office.

Be that as it may, the current case involves the voodoo doll that just won't seem to go away.

Not that Sarkozy is exactly making moves to drop it.

To be fair of course, he's leaving it all to his lawyer Thierry Herzog, and for those of you who may not quite be up to speed on the events so far (although on current evidence perhaps you could be forgiven for thinking that it might rear its head again at regular intervals over the coming months) here's a quick recap.

The doll in question comes as part of a kit, complete with 12 needles and an instruction manual that quite literally invites the user to "pinpoint" exactly which elements of Sarkozy's policies or character they dislike most.

You don't like his infamous retort to a man who refused to shake his hand during a visit to this year's agricultural show? Simply stick a pin in the appropriate place. What about his policy on ending advertising on public television? Ditto. Fed up with hearing the oft-repeated mantra "Work more to earn more"? You know what to do.

And so on, and so forth.

Certainly not in the greatest of taste, but apparently offensive enough to have upset Sarkozy and instruct his legal team to take action.

The doll - and a similar one representing Ségolène Royal, the defeated Socialist party candidate in last year's presidential election, first went on sale on October 9 (Sarkozy - 20,000, Royal, 15,000).

Within a week Herzog, had demanded that K&B, the company which has manufactured and distributed the manuals and dolls, withdraw the product from circulation or risk legal action for "misuse of the president's image";

It refused and the case went to court, with Herzog arguing that Sarkozy owned the sole rights to his image and the company had never been authorised to use it.

At the end of last month a court rejected that request and ruled that the "non-authorised representation of the image of Nicolas Sarkozy neither constituted an affront on the human dignity (of the president) nor a personal attack." In other words the doll could remain on sale.

The country waited with not exactly bated breath to see whether Sarkozy would appeal the decision - and true to form, he did.

On Thursday Herzog was back in court armed with.....well exactly the same arguments really.

"The book and the needles represent nothing more than a business transaction and advertising without the agreement of Nicolas Sarkozy," he told the court.

"The product exceeds the right to caricature and instead invites users, who dislike or distrust the president, to play an active role by encouraging them to stick pins in a doll with the aim of harming", he added

"And that almost constitutes an act to stir hate, which is contrary to French law"

Or a rather legal way of once again saying that the company didn't have the rights to use the image of Sarkozy and that somehow users might think that by sticking pins in the doll they were actually practising voodoo.

The court will rule on the appeal at the end of this month.

Just for the record, Royal has taken no action whatsoever.

The upshot of the whole saga on sales? Well apparently they've sold out. And at €12.95 a pop - well you do the maths, but that's a pretty tidy sum.

Fear not though, just in case you haven't been able to get hold of one and are keen to practise your voodoo skills, or are desperate to find that strange little stocking filler for the holiday season.

They're still available on a rather well-known Internet auction site.

That's where one person not a million miles away from this keyboard managed to get hold of his.

Pass the pins please.

Sarkozy's voodoo doll remains on shop shelves

The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has failed in his attempt to have a voodoo doll in his image withdrawn from circulation.

A Paris court has ruled that it can remain on sale.

Sarkozy had instructed his lawyers to file a law suit claiming that the doll was a "misuse of the president's image" and demanding it be withdrawn.

But on Wednesday a court ruled that the "non-authorised representation of the image of Nicolas Sarkozy neither constituted an affront on the human dignity (of the president) nor a personal attack."

The doll, as reported here, comes as part of a kit, complete with 12 needles and an instruction manual on how to use it.

It includes such delightful quotes, characteristic and policy decisions from the French president such as; "The end of advertising on public television, "Work more to earn more" or the infamous faux pas during his visit to the annual agricultural fair earlier this year when he told a visitor who refused to shake his hand to "Get lost you stupid (expletive deleted)" and invites users to stick pins in the appropriate place.

It has been on sale since the beginning of October, but through his lawyer, Thierry Herzog, Sarkozy had protested that he had exclusive rights to his own image.

While acknowledging that the doll hardly represented to best of taste, the court maintained that users couldn't "take seriously the procedure and believe that they were indeed practising voodoo."

It also stressed that both Sarkozy and his opponent in last year's presidential run-off, Ségèlone Royal (who also has a similar doll on sale) had both put played heavily to the electorate in terms of focussing on their public image as part of their promotional campaign.

Royal - who had not taken legal action against the manufacturers - said that she welcomed the court's decision as "good news".

K&B, the company which has manufactured and distributed the manuals and dolls (Sarkozy - 20,000, Royal, 15,000) will be allowed to continue selling the items.

Herzog has not yet said whether Sarkozy will be appealing the court's ruling.