French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been embroiled in a bizarre controversy after he claimed that he had personally helped to demolish the Berlin Wall on the first day of its fall 20 years ago.

Sarkozy has posted on Facebook a photo of himself chipping away at the Berlin Wall with a pickaxe. The photograph is dated November 9, 1989, the date the wall fell 20 years ago.

In his comments under the photograph, Sarkozy says he was secretary-general of the Rally for the Republic party (RPR) at the time.

On his Facebook page, Sarkozy said that he had dashed to Berlin on the morning of November 9, 1989, with the future Prime Minister Alain Juppé, after hearing rumours that the Wall was coming down, The Independent reports.

Several other websites pointed out that rumours of the Wall’s fall had only started in the evening and that no crowds assembled on the western side until the next day.

Juppé said on his blog that he had travelled to Berlin with Sarkozy “several days” after the Wall fell.

The Elysee Palace then said that Sarkozy had made two visits to Berlin, on the 9th and the 16th.