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A film of a tense and tough Nicolas Sarkozy, recorded without his knowledge before an interview about France's EU presidency, has become an overnight internet hit.
Within 24 hours, almost 400,000 people had tuned in to watch the French President as he snapped at staff at public TV channel France 3.
Sarkozy rebuked a technician placing his microphone who failed to reply when he said "hello".
"It's a matter of upbringing," he told the man. "When you're a guest you have the right to expect a hello ... Or we're not in the public service here, we are at a demonstration ... incredible ... and serious. That's going to change."
He then turned to one of the interviewers, Gerard Leclerc, asking him in the informal "tu" form, "How long did you spend in Siberia [in the closet in French]?" apparently referring to the journalist not having been given an on-camera role for a while.
