Car hire advertisement is the height of rudeness for Sarkozy

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PARIS // An advertising campaign for the car hire firm Sixt has caused controversy in France for mocking the height of the French president Nicolas Sarkozy. The adverts use the slogan "Be like Madame Bruni, take a small French model" in an attempt to persuade people to hire a small Citroen C3 hatchback. President Sarkozy stands at five feet five inches, five inches shorter than his wife, Carla Bruni. According to the Daily Mail newspaper, the presidential couple have sued two companies in the past for using their images without their permission. The British newspaper reported that the Sixt president in France, Jean-Philippe Doyen said: "These advertisements are entitled to be funny and we need to inject a little fun into our business after such a difficult period experienced by many of our clients." Last year Sarkozy was accused of picking people shorter than him to appear alongside when visiting a car parts factory in Normandy.