Cantona's presidential pitch has a charitable goal

THE FRONT-page photograph was of Eric Cantona, wearing a shirt and tie and staring purposefully into the middle distance, alongside the headline: “I’m looking for 500 signatures.”

Given that a presidential election is just four months away, that candidates need 500 signatures from mayors to get their name on to the ballot paper and that this, after all, was one of the most mercurial men in sport, Libération's suggestion was clear.

Cantona for president? Not quite. Having initially played along with its tantalising cover and an online story that circulated long enough to generate some hype, the French daily revealed that Cantona had performed a stunt to draw attention to France’s public housing shortage. He wanted to support the Fondation Abbé Pierre, a charity for the homeless, and had agreed to the ruse – complete with a letter setting out his vision for France – to capture public attention.

“We told ourselves we needed an extra kick” for a petition urging presidential candidates to make housing a campaign priority, Patrick Doutreligne, the foundation’s director, said. “He will not be a candidate,” he added.

In an interview yesterday, Cantona criticised mayors for preferring to pay fines than build the required amount of public housing in their towns and cities.

Since retiring from soccer, Cantona has worked regularly as a stage and screen actor. In 2010, he told a French newspaper he planned to become a war photographer “in seven years”.