The image won a special mention in the "politically incorrect" category. Taken on the street, the photograph shows a man seen from behind: his trousers are around his ankles and he is apparently wiping his bottom with a French flag. The picture appeared last month in Metro, a free national newspaper, and was hastily withdrawn from the contest in the southern city of Nice after complaints from veterans' groups.
"As soon as we saw that people were shocked by the image, we withdrew it from the list of winners, with the photographer's consent, and we have not exhibited it," said a FNAC spokeswoman. The government got involved after being alerted by a local MP.
But under French law, it is only an offence to insult the flag in an event organised by the public authorities - not in a private, cultural event such as this. Ms Alliot-Marie said the law should be changed. "Presumably the law has the legal means to punish such an intolerable act against the French flag," said the minister's spokesman.
5 comments:
Thats stupid, why change the law if its not obeyed already? Flag is just a flag.
mmmm... "nationalist" feelings these days....
(you should come & live in belgium these days.... wackos in government here....) *DONT_KNOW*
xezzy: Try telling that to an American, some of them actually die for their flag and I don't mean the symbolic country thing.. I mean the bit of cloth up a pole. One of the embassies was under fire and soldiers went up to take down the flag instead of running like hell, like all the people who worked there did.
There's more countries where the flag is protected by law.
I'm not a nationalist, but I can imagine that there are people totally not amused by this.
If I would wipe off my bottom with your front door or with your family-name-plate at your front door, you probably also would come after me with a vengeance...
Awful lot of fuss for something that's easily replaceable...
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