Sarkozy on ice - a law suit in the offing?

Oh la la, how will the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, react to the latest advertising campaign by the German all-news television channel Ntv?

In the advertisement, the smiling face of the French president is superimposed on the body of an appropriately clad (female) figure skater in a classically artistic pose with the title "From the Elysée to ice skating" and the caption underneath reading "Ntv viewers don't just get the most important political and business news, but also exciting reports and documentaries - in fact everything you need to be able to join in the discussion."

Sarkozy of course has made it something of a habit of bringing civil suits in this country - six so far during his 18 months as president - and he hasn't hesitated in resorting to French justice to prove his point.

They include most famously perhaps the recent case of the voodoo doll and that the one earlier this year of Ryanair. In both instances Sarkozy argued that there had been unauthorized misuse of the president's image.

So will he now be tempted to stretch his legal reach as far as Germany? After all he is currently the biggest cheese in the European Union as France's term in the 27-nation bloc's six-month rotating presidency still has a few weeks left to run.

Admittedly Ntv's publicity campaign has only just started to appear in German newspapers and magazines such as the weekly Der Spiegel.

But those same magazines are also widely available throughout France, and already sections of the media here have caught hold of the story and reprinted images of "dancing president".

Perhaps though he should take some heart from the fact that he's not the only head of state to be featured in the channel's campaign.

He's in the most regal of company as there is also another advertisement featuring the United Kingdom's Queen Elizabeth II, dressed as a trade union official, waving a red banner with the headline "From monarch to minimum salary".

The campaign is part of an attempt by the channel to give it a "younger, fresher, and friendlier" appeal according to the Ntv's communications director, Christoph Hemmerschmidt, and it's being accompanied by some on-air changes to its programming.

The privately operated German language 24-hour news channel is a partner station of CNN, widely available throughout France too on satellite.

"We've had some great feedback from this campaign," Hemmerschmidt told the German press.

"Nicolas Sarkozy is very well known (here in Germany) and in a sense he represents foreign policy".

There has been no word yet from the Elysée palace - Sarkozy's official residence as president of France - on whether he's actually seen the advertisement.

And Buckingham palace in London has not yet made a comment either.