A MOST unfortunate photograph is currently filling e-mail in-boxes all across France, appearing to show a nightmare vision of a future France run by the centre-right presidential candidate, Nicolas Sarkozy.

The picture is genuine enough, France's newspapers have reported. As Le Monde explains, it shows menacing riot police outside the headquarters of the UMP (Mr Sarkozy's party), with a banner above showing one of his favourite slogans, "Let's imagine the France of tomorrow." And there you see (cue titters from those who think Mr Sarkozy is a nasty authoritarian) the France of tomorrow looks like a Sarkozy-run police state, guarded by jack-booted officers of the feared riot police.

It is all an unhappy coincidence, it seems. The picture was taken on the day of a workers' protest outside the headquarters of a telecommunications firm, Alcatel, which lies on the other side of the street from the national headquarters of the UMP in Paris. The flics were merely using the UMP building as a place to gather and lounge, menacingly.