Sarkozy threatens to sue over 'voodoo doll' that tells people to stick pins into President's body



French President Nicolas Sarkozy has threatened to sue a publishing company unless it withdraws a Sarkozy doll that comes with a "voodoo manual" telling readers to plant pins in it.

The doll is emblazoned with some of Sarkozy's most famous quotes such as "Get lost you pathetic a***hole" -- his words to a bystander who refused to shake his hand at a farm show last year.



Readers are encouraged to plant pins in the quotes.

The Sarkozy voodoo doll encourages people to stick pins into the model of the French president

"Nicolas Sarkozy has instructed me to remind you that, whatever his status and fame, he has exclusive and absolute rights over his own image," his lawyer Thierry Herzog wrote to publishers K&B in a letter published by newspaper Le Monde.

Nicholas Sarkozy has issued legal proceedings against the firm

Herzog said Sarkozy would sue the publishing firm if it didn't respond and pull the product. K&B has issued 20,000 copies of the manual and doll.

The company has also issued a Segolene Royal doll representing Sarkozy's rival in last year's presidential election.



Her lawyer said she was also considering legal action.

Voodoo is a religion rooted in West Africa that is practised in parts of the Caribbean, especially Haiti, and parts of the southern United States.

According to a widespread belief, voodoo worshippers can plant pins in dolls representing their enemies to curse them from afar.



However, voodoo experts say the practice has been widely misunderstood and misrepresented by outsiders.

