The world’s greatest nuclear salesman has found himself of a spot of trouble of late. It seems that, while France’s president Nicholas Sarkozy has been traveling the globe trying to sell nuclear technology to anyone who wants it, he’s been forgetting to pay the bills back at home...

The Court of Accounts investigated expenses at the presidential Palais de l'Elysée - for the first time since the 18th century - and found that taxpayers' money had been used to pay €2580.23 ($3670) in fines for late payment of electricity bills.

Naughty, naughty Nicholas. The thing is, all he’s doing is following the example set by his beloved nuclear industry. After all, what with tax credits, subsidies, loan guarantees and liability assurances and decommissioning costs, taxpayers’ money has been paying the nuclear industry’s bills for years.