French President Francois Hollande is reluctant to be snapped in a shot alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, as the politician and his inner circle are fretting that he might be looked at in the wrong light due to the height differential between the two: Hollande is 5-foot-7, while Schwarzenegger is 6-foot-2.
The former Calif. governor, representing the R20 environmental group, is set to visit the Elysée Palace Friday to discuss climate change in an hour-long meeting.
While the appearance was initially thought of as a boon, as Hollande’s advisers figured the Schwarzenegger association would be a plus, the idea of a photo op with The Terminator star between the embattled French politician could make Hollande look bad.
“Schwarzenegger’s nine feet tall!” a Hollande underling told French newspaper Le Parisien.
The Austrian bodybuilding legend’s presence at the French palace could also tun out bad for the French president, as an adviser said “there’s a risk of being condemned for being frivolous .”
Hollande is reeling from from a recent book from ex-girlfriend Valérie Trierweiler that painted him in a negative light.