It is an admission that is verging on sacrilegious for a French president. But Nicolas Sarkozy's top chef has revealed that the French head of state has banned cheese from the table at the Elysée Palace.

　　Charles de Gaulle once famously declared: "How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?"

　　The fitness mad Mr Sarkozy has chosen to remove the source of De Gaulle's angst from his sight, according to presidential chef Bernard Vaussion, who is cooking for his fifth French head of state.

　　The French were famously dubbed "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" by irate US Republicans when they failed to support the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

　　But Mr Sarkozy has done away with the high-fat stuff altogether after meals, his chef explained, as "it was too much" for him.

　　His cheese aversion even threatened to spark a diplomatic incident last October, when he offended Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, by telling another EU leader that over dinner "she says she is on a diet and then helps herself to a second helping of cheese".

　　The health-conscious leader opts instead for "light, balanced meals and poultry to red meat", his chef said, in a clear break with his predecessors who were not afraid of heartier fare, even at lunchtime.

　　The French had already found it hard to swallow the fact that their leader drinks no wine, a source of great national pride. The latest revelation risks striking another symbolic blow to the leader's credentials as a flag-bearer of French gastronomy.

　　On the advice of his former supermodel wife, Carla, 13 years his junior, the one-time chocoholic president has been on a draconian fitness and nutrition programme for most of his presidency, served a frugal diet of fish, vegetables, salads and sorbets. Cottage cheese, it is believed, still makes the grade.

　　Some blamed the low-calorie diet on Mr Sarkozy collapsing in 2009 during one of his gruelling daily jogs.
　　尼古拉-萨科奇的御用大厨透露，这位法国总统将奶酪逐出了爱丽舍宫的餐桌，这对于一名法国总统来说，几乎是冒天下之大不韪。

　　夏尔-戴高乐曾有一句名言：“一个人该怎样治理一个拥有246种奶酪的国家？”

　　曾为5位法国首脑烹制菜肴的总统御厨伯纳德-沃森透露，为了身材而疯狂的萨科奇决定将戴高乐忧心的根源移出视线。

　　2003年法国未能支持美国进攻伊拉克，当时恼怒的美国共和党人就冠以法国人“吃奶酪的投降猴子”的称号。

　　但是萨科奇的大厨解释道，这位法国总统已经摒弃了这些餐后的高脂肪食物，它们实在让他无法忍受。

　　在去年十月份的时候，他对奶酪的厌恶甚至差点引起一场外交事故。当时，萨科奇在席间对另一位欧盟领导人说：“她（德国总理安吉拉默克尔）说她在节食，然后却一再取奶酪吃”，这句话惹到了默克尔。

　　他的大厨还说道，这位重视健康的总统选择了“用清淡、均衡的食物和家禽代替红肉”，这和不忌惮丰盛食物的前几任总统完全不同，甚至午餐也如此。

　　法国已经很难接受他们的领导人不喝葡萄酒，因为葡萄酒是法国民族自豪感的来源之一。而最新的奶酪禁令将再次给这位领导人的“法国美食旗手”资格造成象征性冲击。

　　在比自己小13岁、做过超模的妻子卡拉的建议下，曾经酷爱巧克力的萨科奇总统在任期的大部分时间里一直进行着严格的健身和营养计划。他仅吃鱼类、蔬菜、沙拉和冰沙等食物。不过据认为白干酪还是被列入了萨科奇的食谱。

　　2009年萨科奇曾在一次艰苦的慢跑锻炼中晕倒，有些人将这归咎于他的低热量饮食。