Paris, Nov. 10: François Fillon, the French Prime Minister, has let slip that he is tired of being upstaged by President Nicolas Sarkozy, in a post-interview aside caught on camera.

But asked by a journalist whether he sometimes felt like “going out” into the field, Fillon replied: “Half the time, I want to go but it’s too late: he’s already left. And then often, the problem with him is, he (Sarkozy) doesn’t want me (to go).”

The informal comments were captured on film as Fillon left a recording studio on Thursday. As the filmed snippet was viewed by thousands on the Internet and later on national television news, Fillon tried to pass it off as a joke.

“I was reproached for being too absent from the media and today, by the magic of the Internet, I’m a star!” he wrote on his blog. “Well yes, a Prime Minister can also have a sense of humour.” Sarkozy has all but eclipsed Fillon and his cabinet, insisting on being seen as personally handling almost all domestic and international issues. Six months into his presidency, Sarkozy faces his toughest test yet in the coming weeks, with a possibly lengthy nationwide transport strike over pension reforms kicking off late next Tuesday.