Sarkozy: G8 clip not result of alcohol

PARIS, June 20 (UPI) -- French President Nicholas Sarkozy said alcohol didn't play a part in an embarrassing video clip of him at a G8 conference two weeks ago.

While some of have postulated that the French leader was intoxicated at the summit in Germany, Sarkozy said he was simply "out of breath" when he was videotaped by the Belgian media, The Times of London said Wednesday.

Video clips of Sarkozy taken from that footage have been posted on the Internet and have been watched by more than 15 million people.

In those clips, the new French leader appears to be slurring his speech and repeatedly laughs while asking the media to interview him.

Yet Sarkozy said his seemingly unusual behavior was simply due to temporary exhaustion, the newspaper reported.

"I was running late so I went up the stairs four steps at a time," Sarkozy said of the incident. "I didn't have anything special to say so I asked if there were any questions. I do not touch a drop of alcohol. That's no special merit, I just don't like it."