Newlyweds 'emotional, amorous'

2008-02-02 22:28

Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy put an end to the rumours on Saturday and did the deed, marrying Italian supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni in an intimate, private ceremony at the Elysee Palace.

News that the 53-year-old president had tied the knot with Bruni, 40, was announced on radio by the mayor of the eighth district of Paris, Francois Lebel, who officiated at the wedding.

The marriage was later confirmed by the president's office in a brief statement saying Sarkozy and Bruni "announce that they were married this morning in the presence of their families in the strictest privacy".

Lebel was more effusive about the short service attended by about 20 people, revealing that the bride wore white and "was ravishing, as usual", he gushed on Europe 1 radio.

The newlyweds were "emotional and amorous ... There was an exchange of vows and the traditional kiss. Nothing exceptional," he added.

This is Sarkozy's third marriage and comes after he and his wife of 11 years, Cecilia Ciganer-Albeniz, divorced in October. While he is the first divorced man to be elected French president, he is the second to get married while in office after Gaston Doumerque in 1931.

Sarkozy and Bruni reportedly met at a dinner party in November. A month later their romance grabbed headlines when they were photographed together at the EuroDisney theme park outside Paris.

They were next seen on vacation together in Egypt and Jordan, their every move followed by a horde of paparazzi.

The rumour mill soon began churning that the two would marry soon, and the French leader admitted at a press conference on January 8 that "with Carla it's serious."

Bruni is a rich heiress of Italian origin who moved from a successful career as a supermodel in the 1990s to that of a pop singer with her first hit record in 2002 under the title "Quelqu'un m'a dit" (Somebody told me).

Best wishes for her future as France's first lady came from a former holder of that post, Bernadette Chirac.

"I extend all my warmest wishes for happiness to the newlyweds. She is very beautiful and I know that they are very happy together," said the wife of former president Jacques Chirac on RTL radio.

"Really, for France, I hope that they will be very happy and that they will have much happiness, not too many difficulties. It is a life that is nevertheless not easy ... but I am sure that they will be good for each other," she said.

The tall brunette has been romantically linked to a string of famous men including rock stars Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton as well as tycoon Donald Trump.

Bruni has a six-year-old son, Aurelien, from her relationship with philosopher Raphael Enthoven.

Enthoven's ex-wife Justine Levy, who is the daughter of philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, published a 2004 novel with a character based on Bruni: a man-eater described as "beautiful and bionic, with the eyes of a killer" and "an immobile face, as if sculpted in wax".

Bruni got a taste of her new life as wife of the French president right on their wedding day - Sarkozy had to attend two emergency meetings on Saturday to deal with the crisis in Chad where rebel forces had seized the capital.

Sarkozy has a 10-year-old son, Louis, from his marriage to Cecilia and two sons, Pierre, 22, and Jean, 21, from his first marriage to Marie-Dominique Culioli.

- AFP