However, I'm cheered to read that the French are reviving the chasse présidentielle.  This ceremonial hunting party does not herald the return of the ancient régime. It is simply Sarkozy's latest wheeze to pay back courtiers and cultivate French and foreign VIPs.  I'm enjoying the media uproar over these regal battues or game shoots, which the Elysée Palace has made fashionable again.  The revival of the hunting party for the rich and powerful, which was dropped by Chirac in 1995, has thrown the presidency onto the defensive this week with the accusation that it's undemocratic.

In true Louis XIV style, the great chateau of Chambord on the Loire once again has become the scene of an opulent shoot with a group of dignitaries shooting boar with all the pomp of the Sun King's court, i.e. the palace guard, torch light ritual and banquet.

Since ancient times the chasse has been a way to bestow favours and cultivate foreign leaders, such as the late Shah of Iran and the late Emperor Bokassa of the Central African Republic.  I personally prefer to see a bit of glamour and sophistication return.  Even if certain journalists labeled it a return to privilege.  "It's showy, pompous, wasteful and secret like a cult gathering," rants one radio commentator."  That's sour grapes if I ever heard it.

The guests at the shoot are lodged in an auberge opposite the Renaissance chateau.  After a lavish breakfast they fire away at boar and stag.  After the luncheon and more "drives," the Garde Republicaine salutes the tableau de chasse where the boar carcasses are laid out.

Unlike the kings of old, Sarkozy does not lead the festivities at the 400-acre chateau.  He leaves that to his adviser and friend, Pierre Charon.  M. Charon says, "It's simply a matter of killing boar and a few deer.  If it's not done by invitation the gamekeepers do it."  The catering works out at £175/head for the 14 shoots a year.  Under Mitterand, a Socialist, les chasses became venues for deal making.  Gaddafi, the Libyan leader bagged a dozen birds when he was taken on one of these "imperial throwbacks" in 2007.

Although detractors call these events "imperial and obscene," recent guests include chiefs of multinational corporations, ministers and senior police and judges, which doesn't sound very regal or obscene.

I'd love to be invited to one of these.  The wild boar and venison delicacies sound delicious.

Vive la chasse présidentielle ! Vive le sanglier !  Vive les flying boars !