Bernard-Henri Levy visits Tbilisi

The Russians may be withdrawing from Georgia, but now the beleaguered people of that country must contend with another interloper - the bouffant-haired French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy. According to the Independent, Levy is ensconced at the Tbilisi Marriott with an entourage consisting of a personal cameraman, a photographer, publicist and bodyguard. Quite why he is there, no one knows. When asked, he would only say that his visit to the war zone wasn't mere tokenism. "I am an involved intellectual," he insisted. "I came because I think the stakes are huge."

He and his entourage have certainly made an impression on fellow guests at the hotel. "It's not too difficult to spot them," says one. "They are all loafing around in the foyer puffing clouds of smoke, and gesticulating meaningfully. BHL is in his element going around in a crumpled white shirt, hair coiffed into a sort of wind tunnel effect, and reeking of perfume."

It isn’t the first time Levy has engaged in international diplomacy. As well as positioning himself as a key negotiator in the Bosnian conflict, he recently travelled to Darfur. He says of the Georgian crisis: "There is one not-so-bad thing to come out of this conflict. And that is that Georgia is now on the map."