PARIS — Sarkozy's office insisted Thursday they had nothing to do with the disappearance. Spokesman David Martinon denied reports that the presidential palace gave instructions to the magazine's owner - and Sarkozy friend - Arnaud Lagardere, to retouch the photos.

"The only line we work on is the political and diplomatic one," Martinon told a news conference.

"We are rather bad at Photoshop here," he added.

Paris-Match said it retouched the photos because "the position of the boat exaggerated this protuberance. . . . (But) In lightening the shadows, the correction was exaggerated."

The media-savvy Sarkozy, 52, jogs regularly and has cultivated a highly active, fit image.

The original photos of Sarkozy canoeing with his son Louis on Lake Winnipesaukee, N.H., first appeared earlier this month in the French press, complete with his "poignees d'amour," French for love handles.

Paris-Match published the touched-up version on Aug. 9.