Finnish police are trying to track down a small-time conman said to resemble EU commission president Jose Manuel Barroso.

BM's Finnish is sadly wanting, but the fraud in question appears to involve the exchange of money in return for clothing purportedly left over from a fashion show (see Helsingin Sanomat's coverage here).

The Barroso double offloaded four 'leather-effect' jackets, four men's shirts, two ties and two belts, all for 200 euros.

The story raises all sorts of questions. Among the less obvious and less crudely satirical: has Bozo really garnered such profile that he is recognised in the provinces of Finland?

Can we expect more criminal sightings of this ilk?

"The suspect had the unmistakable gait of Janez Potočnik "

"I detected behind the balaclava a twinkle in the eye and a smirk redolent of Algirdas Šemeta."

"He stank of Tajani."

The French government has attracted the ire of Brussels and London, with a targeted campaign to repatriate hundreds of Brits with second homes in Provence, the Dordogne and beyond.

Reacting to mounting political pressure, Paris has been shipping the occasional residents back to Britain, amid claims they have been gentrifying the countryside and patronising the locals a bit.

European Commissioner for Herself, Viviane Reding, made matters worse this week, when she compared the situation to Napoleon's 1793 evacuation of the British from Toulon.

Her comments fomented post-Trafalgar resentment, prompting a tirade from an improbably-named French minister.

The ousted Brits, returning with a bootful of an absolutely darling white from a little vineyard down the road and a 'distressed' antique chest from a chap in the village, were heard to be muttering something about 'the Algarve.'