Traumatised both by France's failure to stop the Iraq war and its soccer team's embarrassing and premature exit from Euro 2004, international footballing legend (and amateur philosopher) Eric Cantona disappeared last weekend.

Today, psychiatric nurses from the Centre Hospitalier Sainte Anne in Paris safely removed him from a makeshift underground refuge he had constructed for himself on the outskirts of the city and led him into custody for his own protection. After showering, and despite his clear distress, Cantona posed for pictures.