It was a short photo-opportunity that's turned into a long story. Something about French President Nicholas Sarkozy's visit to an auto parts plant in northern France didn't measure up.
None of the workers in the white coats chosen to stand around Sarkozy was taller than the French president, who's listed in the program as five-foot-five and is known to be a little vertically sensitive. Sarkozy surrounded by shorter people does not happen often - and this wasn't an accident.
The President's aids are accused of busing in workers who satisfied one small criteria: size. When one worker was asked if she was chosen for her size, she replied, "oui."
Sarkozy's office says the idea they shrunk the audience is stretching the truth, but the French public has become used to their president's attempts to gain stature.