French President Francois Hollande was ridiculed yesterday after allowing himself to look like a ‘dwarf’ alongside a British regiment which won battle honours at Waterloo and then occupied Paris. During an official visit to London on Tuesday, the French President inspected a guard of honour from the 1st Battalion of the Coldstream Guards at the Foreign Office.u00a0No tall guards for Sarkozyu00a0It was rumoured that former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was so sensitive about his height that he had banned statuesque bodyguards. Sarkozy also would also stand on tiptoes or on a box to remain shoulder to shoulder with other leaders and his wife Carla Bruni. He wore specially-designed stacked shoes to appear tall.He then appeared in hugely embarrassing photographs alongside Major James Coleby, who looked around two feet taller than the Gallic head of state.

Long and short of it: French President Francois Hollande cut a diminutive figure alongside members of the Coldstream Guards on his first official visit to London.