Sarkozy's Facebook account hacked

Paris: A hacker took over French President Nicolas Sarkozy's Facebook account and issued a fake message that he would not run for re-election in 2012, media reports said Monday.

"Taking into account exceptional circumstances facing our country, I decided in my soul and conscience not to represent myself after my first term in 2012," the message read.

Before the president's office managed to erase the fake information and reclaim the account, in 15 minutes, 123 people registered as visitors to the page, Xinhua reported, citing French daily Le Monde.

After the message was posted around 9 pm (2000 GMT), Sarkozy said his account was hacked, admitting "no system is infallible".

The president said he does not subscribe to the conclusion of the message.

Sarkozy is scheduled to spell out plans for reforming the international monetary system in a keynote speech on France's year-long G20 presidency.

He has not publicly announced his bid for the May 2012 election, but reports said he had revealed his intention to run for a second term at an in-house meeting of his party members