French Court Allows Sarkozy Voodoo Doll

Publishing company K&B, which has issued 20,000 copies of the manual and doll, will be allowed to continue selling the items.

A French court on Wednesday rejected President Nicolas Sarkozy's demand for a ban on a Sarkozy doll and voodoo manual that encourages readers to stick pins in it.

The doll is emblazoned with some of Sarkozy's most famous quotes, such as "Get lost you pathetic arsehole" -- his words to a bystander who refused to shake his hand at an agricultural exhibition in 2007. The manual recommends planting pins in that quote and others.

The court said the voodoo doll was "within the authorised boundaries of freedom of expression and the right to humour". It rejected Sarkozy's argument that the doll violated his right to his own image.

Publishing company K&B, which has issued 20,000 copies of the manual and doll, will be allowed to continue selling the items.

Voodoo is a religion rooted in West Africa that is practised in parts of the Caribbean and the southern United States.

According to widespread belief, voodoo worshippers plant pins in dolls representing their enemies to curse them. However, voodoo experts say outsiders have misunderstood the practice.