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Cannes - Flamboyant British comic Sacha Baron Cohen sparked minor chaos on Cannes' fabled Croisette beachfront on Wednesday as his zany alter ego General Aladeen took a morning stroll on his camel Osama.
The star of The Dictator ordered his mini-skirted Amazonian bodyguards to point their assault rifles at the press pack outside the ritzy Carlton Hotel before he straddled his humped beast and headed for a nearby cafe.
The media scrum that followed Cohen clogged traffic on the chic promenade as the fictional Middle Eastern dictator shared his thoughts on France's new President Francois Hollande and the unrest in Syria.
Hog the media limelight
"Hollandaise? Yes, I supported his campaign. I gave him 500 000 euros," he quipped. But when asked by AFP if he had sent the lightning bolt that struck Hollande's plane as it flew to Berlin on Tuesday, he denied any involvement.
"There was a lightning? It was not me," stated the general, who was dressed for the occasion in a multi-coloured jockey's outfit and brandished a riding crop.
Then he sat at a cafe terrace where he ordered two coffees - one for the camel who refused to drink it - before moving on to a Ralph Lauren store from which he emerged with an orange scarf that he wrapped around his mount's neck.
The Ali G, Borat and Bruno star, who turned up in military regalia at the Oscars and pretended to pour late North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il's ashes onto an interviewer, has already premiered his movie.
He was in Cannes simply to cause a stir and try to hog the media limelight as the Riviera resort prepared to launch its 65th annual film festival later on Wednesday.
Baron Cohen made a previous appearance in Cannes in 2006 when he turned up on the beach to strut his stuff in a "mankini" to publicise Borat.
Watch The Dictator trailer here:
