Since coming into office, President Sarkozy has seemed particularly preoccupied with how he is portrayed to the outside world, even to the extent of wearing platforms, apparently to appear taller. But recent events in France suggest that his interest in the media goes much further than worries about his image.

He announced in January that he wanted an end to advertising on state broadcaster FTV in favour of a more BBC-style management and brought together a commission to look at how it could be managed and funded. He even brought in an ex-BBC executive, David Levy, to sit on the board.

Since then, Sarkozy has suggested that the director of FTV should be a government appointment – leading to concerns over the broadcasters’ independence.