Sarkozy spared injury during visit
French President Nicolas Sarkozy narrowly missed getting hit by a plastic bottle thrown by a pupil during a visit to combat school violence.
Mr Sarkozy was at a middle school in a problem zone in Beauvais, north-west of Paris.
As he explained measures to crack down on delinquency, the pupil tossed the bottle, which lightly brushed the president - who did not flinch.
The school's deputy head, Jerome Rochard, said it was unclear who from the crowd of 500 had thrown the bottle.
Among Mr 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 truant.