Aug 6, 2007 12:35 pm US/Eastern
Sarkozy Berates Photographers In N.H.
WOLFEBORO, N.H. (CBS) ―
Two American photographers say they were confronted and scolded by French President Nicolas Sarkozy after they took his picture on Lake Winnipesaukee Sunday afternoon.
Sarkozy and his companions were headed for open water in a boat on the lake when he spotted Associated Press photographer Jim Cole and freelancer Vince DeWitt aboard Cole's boat, which was outside a buoy barrier monitored by the New Hampshire Marine Patrol.
Before Sarkozy spotted him, Cole had driven his boat up to the patrol boat, identified himself and received permission to be there.
"He was happy and smiling and he waved at the security people as he was coming out," Cole said of the president. "And then he noticed us taking pictures and his happy demeanor diminished immediately."
The men said they watched through their lenses as Sarkozy pointed toward them and his boat began moving in their direction. Coming alongside Cole's boat, Sarkozy jumped aboard and began shouting at them.
"We stood there quite stunned with our cameras out of our hands," DeWitt told CBS radio station WBZ-Radio Monday.
"The president, who is dressed in a pair of bathing trunks and no shirt or shoes, climbed into our boat and was quite agitated and was yelling at us in French."
Both men said they repeatedly stated they did not speak French.
"He started pointing at me and then his, I believe it was his wife on the boat, but I'm not a 100-percent certain, translated and she said that the president had told both of us at a morning press conference that would be no more pictures. We said that we did not hear him… or understand him because he might have said it in French and, in fact, we found out later that he did say it in French."
Hours earlier, Sarkozy had spoken to reporters and said in French, "I am naturally ready to answer all your questions, and maybe afterward you will resume covering the news and other topics, and leave me tranquilly with my family."
After Cole and DeWitt promised to stop shooting photos for the day, Sarkozy calmed down, reboarded his boat and continued out onto the lake with his party, followed by a boat carrying U.S. Secret Service agents.
The French government in Paris had no immediate comment.
Sarkozy and his family have been vacationing at a lakefront estate in Wolfeboro owned by former Microsoft Corp. executive Michael Appe. The president was previously photographed relaxing dockside in his swim trunks.
"I felt a little threatened," said DeWitt.
"I wasn't sure if he was going to bump into me… in my mind I was saying 'This is the president of France, he is not going to touch me.'"
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
