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 lack of height.
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 — and rankling Sarkozy’s office.
The brouhaha was sparked during a visit to an auto-parts plant in Normandy last week. About 20 employees in white work smocks were gathered to stand behind Sarkozy on a riser.
“I’ve been told you were chosen on height criteria. Is that true?” a reporter for the Belgian TV network RTBF asked a dark-haired woman in the lineup. “Yes, yes,” she said.
Two presidential spokesmen denied the allegation, terming it “absurd and grotesque” and saying no such order had come from Sarkozy’s office. Sarkozy stands about 5 feet 7.
