Sarkozy gets tough with problem students, and one responds by lobbing bottle at him
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}BEAUVAIS, France (AP) — French President Nicolas Sarkozy has narrowly missed getting hit by a plastic bottle lobbed by a student during a school visit to combat school violence.
Sarkozy visited a middle school in a problem zone in Beauvais, northwest of Paris. As he explained measures to crack down on delinquency, a pupil tossed a plastic bottle, which lightly brushed the president — who didn't flinch.
The school's deputy head, Jerome Rochard, said by phone that it was unclear who tossed the bottle Tuesday from the crowd of some 500.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Among Sarkozy's hotly contested measures are plans to create school boot camps for defiant pupils aged 13-16 and suspend family subsidies to parents whose kids play hooky. That measure needs parliamentary approval.