The height of vanity
PARIS - From elevator shoes to step-up boxes behind podiums, and even his own tippy-toes, Nicolas Sarkozy and his handlers have tried to compensate for his height - or lack thereof.
PARIS - From elevator shoes to step-up boxes behind podiums, and even his own tippy-toes, Nicolas Sarkozy and his handlers have tried to compensate for his height - or lack thereof.
Now, a factory worker's claim that she was chosen to stand near the French president during a photo shoot because she is short is making waves on the Internet - and rankling Sarkozy's office.
Two presidential spokesmen denied the allegation, terming it "absurd and grotesque" and saying no such order had come from Sarkozy's office.
Sarkozy regularly appears with crowds in the background, at times with people taller than he is. A spokesman said that he didn't know the president's exact height, but said that it is about 5 feet 7.
Height has been an issue for many leaders over the years - Napoleon is said to have been 5 feet 2.
Other not-so-tall leaders include Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, North Korea's Kim Jong Il and Italy's Silvio Berlusconi.
Photographers have caught Sarkozy standing on boxes behind podiums or standing on his tiptoes - such as during a photo op with his wife, former supermodel Carla Bruni, and with Barack and Michelle Obama in Strasbourg in April.