Court Sticks It to Sarko Over Voodoo Dolls

Stab-able president a cult success in France
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 28, 2008 4:25 PM CST
Court Sticks It to Sarko Over Voodoo Dolls
Voodoo dolls depicting French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, and former socialist presidential candidate Segolene Royal are seen in Paris, in this Oct. 22 , 2008, file photo.   (AP Photo)

An appeals court in France essentially told the nation's president to lighten up today. The court rejected a bid by Nicolas Sarkozy to ban voodoo dolls made in his likeness, the International Herald Tribune reports. It ruled that the dolls can continue to be sold, only now they must have a red label declaring that poking the mini-Sarko constitutes an attack on his dignity. The court also awarded Sarkozy a token euro in damages and told the doll maker to pay $2,000 in legal fees.

The new labels must have this wording: "It was ruled that the encouragement of the reader to poke the doll that comes with the needles in the kit, an activity whose subtext is physical harm, even if it is symbolic, constitutes an attack on the dignity of the person of Mr. Sarkozy." The French president’s lawyer said he would not appeal again.
(More Nicolas Sarkozy stories.)

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