Sarkozy attacked for defending Clavier

French president Nicolas Sarkozy (pictured) has come under fire after it emerged that he sacked Corsica's police chief, Dominique Rossi, for failing to stop demonstrators occupying a villa on the French island owned by one of his chums, the actor Christian Clavier, who is best known for playing the recalcitrant Gaul Asterix in the movies of the same name.

Apparently taking on the protector role of Asterix's lumpish sidekick, Obelix, Sarkozy decided to act for his friend after Clavier’s summer house was overrun by more than 50 Corsican nationalists in a general protest against outsiders owning holiday homes on the island. When the demonstrators arrived at the actor’s house and entered his garden, Clavier was out but gave orders for them to be served drinks. They sat by the pool for 20 minutes before leaving. Rossi was fired when Sarkozy discovered that the police chief had been given advance warning of the protest and decided not to intervene.

This has given Sarkozy's enemies a field day. Francois Bayrou, the Centrist political leader, claims that Rossi’s dismissal was "disproportionate", while the Socialist leader Francois Hollande is demanding a public statement on the matter. The Elysee Palace remains unrepentant, claiming Rossie was sacked because of an "error in judgment", not because of Clavier's friendship with the president.