UPDATE:  IT TURNS OUT THE FRENCHMAN ISN'T SERIOUS.  HE WAS USING HIS CELEBRITY TO CALL ATTENTION TO THE WORK OF THE ABBE PIERRE FOUNDATION, A FRENCH HOUSING CHARITY.

"He isn't looking for signatures to be a candidate for the presidency, but to pass on the message of the Abbé Pierre foundation in support of better housing policy, and to make housing, which is a priority for French people, a priority for the presidential candidates," Libération's deputy editor, Paul Quinio, told the I-Tele news channel.

But the original item is still worth reading, because Eric Cantona is one interesting mec (dude).

Ooh-ahh Cantona - that's what the crowds at Old Trafford, home of Manchester United, used to chant when the Frenchman was leading their team to victory - and occasionally kung-fu fighting opposing fans (video here).

Since retiring as a player Cantona has had a remarkably interesting career: as an actor, a poet, a product spokesman and social activist. Now, according to a report in Liberation, he is garnering the necessary 500 signatures of mayors around France that will allow his name to be on the ballot for this April's presidential election.