Sarkozy sacks two officials, accused of ruling France like a 'monarch'

Paris, Jan.31 (ANI): President Nicolas Sarkozy has been accused of ruling France like a 'monarch from another age'.

According to The Telegraph, the criticism followed his alleged role in the removal of the top state representative and a police chief from a region after protesters slightly disrupted his visit.

Sarkozy was reportedly outraged that Jean Charbonniaud, the prefect in the northern La Manche region and Philippe Bourgade, its police chief, had not deployed enough officers to keep 3,000 protesters at bay when he visited the town of Saint Lô earlier this month.

After faint whistles were heard as Sarkozy gave a New Year's address to educational staff, he reportedly left the venue furious, exclaiming: "Fire him!"

Michele Alliot-Marie, the interior minister, said the decision to replace the two men was linked to their "not completely adequate" handling of the situation.

Charbonniaud was this week appointed to a post in Paris in a move widely seen as a demotion.

"High-level civil servants must be accountable when there are faults, errors," said a spokesman for Sarkozy's UMP party.

"It is scandalous that a representative of the state can be used like a Kleenex," said Jean-Francois Legrand, a local UMP council leader. (ANI)