A French TV subtitler has been given the boot for translating presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy's call to arms as an appeal to voters to "rally my inflated ego", news agencies report.

The alternative English version of Sarkozy's declaration was enjoyed by US cable TV viewers of France 2 last week, and resulted in a rapid dismissal for the wag responsible after several expat French websites reported the outrage.

France 2 supremo Philippe Baudillon declared the incident "unacceptable" and confirmed the freelance subtitler had been shown the door. ®

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