France election 2012: Nicolas Sarkozy bans cheese from Elysée Palace 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 However, with presidential elections just three weeks away, Mr Sarkozy has chosen to throw his normal dietary rules out of the window if it can help him win an uphill battle to secure a second five-year term. In a sign he is prepared to go the extra political mile, he kicked off his re-election campaign with a visit to a cheese-making factory in the Alpine city of Annecy, also stoically accepting chocolate, crepes and sausages from shopkeepers. "I'll put on three kilos and it's only the first day," he joked before going on to enjoy a fondue lunch with a group of supporters. He then spent four hours at Paris's annual agricultural fair accepting offerings of langoustine, chocolate and Reblochon cheese in a bid to stave off the National Front, whose leader Marine Le Pen claimed to be the "champion" of rural France. If, as the polls predict, the Socialist François Hollande wins power next month, the Elysée chef may be asked to bring back the gooey stuff. However, Mr Hollande has also been on a strict diet in a bid to shed his unfortunate nickname of Flanby - a wobbly caramel custard dessert. There is always uncertainty. We will see, it will be up to him to decide," said Mr Vaussion wistfully.