Paris - The French journalists' union on Tuesday asked President Nicolas Sarkozy for a public apology after he clashed with two photographers at his holiday location in the United States. "Calm down, Monsieur Sarkozy...," a statement published in Paris Tuesday said.
During a boat trip on Sunday, the president clashed with the photographers of two US news agencies, when he climbed into their boat and started insulting them in French.
He also temporarily took the camera off one of them, the photographers said later. The journalists' union criticized the president's use of "force" against the journalists.
Sarkozy - of all people, someone who had so often availed himself of the media - was now complaining about being too much in the limelight, the statement said.
Sarkozy's holiday in a luxury villa in the US resort of Wolfeboro has been making headlines in France for days.
According to Sarkozy, he was invited by friends to the holiday home with private beach, which the media estimate to be costing around 20,000 euros week.
