L’annonce du mariage du chef de l’Etat avec Carla Bruni n’a pas calmé la polemique sur la surexposition de sa vie privée
Debré invite Sarkozy à «la retenue» >>>
Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Les coulisses du mariage présidentiel
Photo de ‘Carlita’ grace au Journal du Dimanche
LE JOURNAL DU DIMANCHE: Nicolas Sarkozy et Carla Bruni-Tedeschi se sont mariés samedi matin à l'Elysée. Sans fastes, sans photographes, en petit comité. En perte de vitesse dans les sondages, selon lesquels les Français lui reprochent son côté "people", le chef de l'Etat a pour une fois fait dans la discrétion. La chanteuse, elle, doit désormais endosser le rôle de première dame.

Il n'aura pas enlevé son alliance longtemps. Trois mois et demi après avoir divorcé de Cécilia, Nicolas Sarkozy, 53 ans, a épousé hier, à 11 heures du matin, à l'Elysée Carla Bruni-Tedeschi, 40 ans. Troisième mariage pour le chef de l'Etat, premier pour l'ex-mannequin devenue chanteuse. La rumeur courait depuis la veille. Le communiqué officiel de la présidence de la République est tombé à 18 h 30: "Madame Carla Bruni-Tedeschi et Monsieur Nicolas Sarkozy annoncent qu'ils se sont mariés ce matin, en présence de leurs familles, dans la plus stricte intimité." Deux lignes et demie volontairement sobres qui viennent conclure le premier couplet d'une romance débutée en fanfare et sur papier glacé, début décembre.

Cette fois-ci, promis-juré, affirme l'entourage du nouveau marié: "Aucun photographe, ni officiel, ni people, n'était présent à la cérémonie civile." Pour tromper ceux qui étaient en planque depuis l'aube, la voiture du président est sortie de l'Elysée peu avant 10 heures par le faubourg Saint-Honoré, en direction de l'UMP. Pendant ce temps-là, les invités rentraient discrètement à l'arrière par la grille du Coq. La cérémonie qui s'est déroulée dans le salon vert, contigu au bureau présidentiel, situé au premier étage du palais, a duré dix minutes, montre en main.

Célébrée par le maire du 8e arrondissement de Paris, François Lebel, en présence d'une trentaine de proches dont la mère - Dadu -, et les fils du président, la mère de la désormais première dame de France, Marisa, et sa soeur, la comédienne et réalisatrice, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, ainsi que ses quatre témoins. Pour lui, Nicolas Bazire, l'ancien directeur de cabinet - et de campagne - d'Edouard Balladur, et Mathilde Agostinelli, responsable de la communication de Prada en France. Pour elle, les comédiennes Marine Delterme - compagne de l'écrivain Florian Zeller - et Farida Khelfa. Quelques rares collaborateurs assistaient aux épousailles. Certains avaient été prévenus le matin même...

Pour garder le secret, les bans n'avaient pas été publiés contrairement à la loi, Nicolas Sarkozy ayant obtenu une dispense du procureur de la République. Il est ainsi devenu le deuxième président français, après Gaston Doumergue en 1931, à se marier à l'Elysée. Le deuxième aussi à épouser une Italienne. Raymond Poincaré avait convolé civilement avec une transalpine, Henriette Adeline Benucci, le 17 août 1904. Les coulisses du mariage présidentiel >>> Par Florence Murraciole et Virginie Le Guay

WELT ONLINE:
In diesen Clan hat Sarkozy hineingeheiratet

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
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Nico et Carlita
"Do you see how beautiful she is ? And she has got brains too. That makes a change." - Sarkozy to Blair
THE SUNDAY TIMES: The discreet marriage of Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni, the Italian model-singer, drew shrugs in much of France today but not in Neuilly, the opulent western Paris suburb where the President was mayor for 19 years.

In cold sunshine on the street market, Jean Sarkozy, the President's 21-year-old son, was congratulated by Sunday morning shoppers who wished their best for Sarko and his Italian third wife. Student Sarko, the second son from Mr Sarkozy's first marriage, was one of 20 present at the Saturday ceremony on the first floor of the Elysée Palace.

"I hope it will go better for my father now," Jean told The Times as he tasted olives from a market stall. "Things have been pretty difficult lately."

Mr Sarkozy was canvassing for David Martinon, 36, his father's spokesman, who is running for Mayor of Neully in council elections next month. The polls in all 36,000 French councils are the first electoral test of the presidency and Mr Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement fears that the "Carla effect" will add to their woes.

Jean Sarkozy's hopes for a turn in his father's fortunes are shared at the Elysée, which has felt the strain since November. That month, Mr Sarkozy, just divorced from Cécilia Ciganer, met Ms Bruni and threw himself into a very public courtship while his ratings plumetted. The UMP also hopes that the wedding will close a turbulent chapter and that France will soon forget a glitzy romance that tarnished the president's image. Sarko's son: I hope things will be better for dad now he's married >>> By Charles Bremner, of The Times, Paris


Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Bling, Bling! The Bride Wore White!
Photo of Carla Bruni courtesy of Google Images
The SUNDAY OBSERVER: President Nicolas Sarkozy and model Carla Bruni married yesterday following a whirlwind romance that has divided France, reports Jason Burke in Paris

And so, in the intimacy of his own home, Nicolas Sarkozy, 53, Co-Prince of Andorra, Commander of the Ordre de Léopold, Grand Master of the Legion d'Honneur, sixth President of the Fifth French Republic, divorced father of three, said 'I do'. And Carla Bruni, successful singer songwriter, former top model, heiress to the fortune of an Italian tyre manufacturer, 40-year-old single mother, said 'I do' too. And afterwards everyone stayed for a glass of orange squash.

'It was exceptional,' François Lebel, the mayor who conducted the ceremony, said with considerable understatement. 'I married two electors of the 8th arrondissement who live at 55, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré [the Elysée palace]. The bride wore white, she was ravishing, as usual... The groom wasn't bad either.'

Lebel said the ceremony, which took place at 11am on the first floor of the palace, lasted about 20 minutes and was 'a moment of family intimacy for the young newlyweds, of great simplicity and a lot of evident affection and emotion between the spouses'. Around 20 people were present.

Sarkozy, who was dressed in suit and tie for his marriage, could not devote the entire day to celebrations as he was distracted by a breaking crisis in Chad, the former French colony in central Africa. As rebels penetrated Chad's capital, Sarkozy called a meeting at the Elysée Palace and spoke by telephone with Chad's President.

Quite whether the well-wishers will include 63 million fellow French citizens - or even the 53 per cent of voters who elected Sarkozy president in a hard-fought election last year - remains to be seen. The frenetically energetic right-winger's approval ratings have plunged in recent weeks, partly due to his failure to boost the French economy as promised but equally because of widespread disapproval of his disregard for long-held traditions. 'The bride wore white; she was ravishing, as usual. The groom wasn't bad either' >>>

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Carla and Nicolas Tie the Knot
Photo of Nicolas and Carla courtesy of Google Images
THE TELEGRAPH: French president Nicolas Sarkozy has married ex-supermodel Carla Bruni in a "secret" ceremony at the Elysée Palace in Paris.

The wedding took place just two and a half months after they met, and three and a half months after he divorced his second wife.

They were married at 11am with François Lebel, mayor of Paris's fashionable 8th arrondissement - in which the palace is situated - officiating.

Mr Sarkozy, 53, and Miss Bruni, 40, exchanged vows in a state room on the first floor of the presidential palace after a highly-publicised whirlwind romance.

Mr Lebel said: "I married two voters from the 8th arrondissement, who live at 55 rue du Faubourg St Honoré," referring to the address of the palace, which is next door to the British Embassy.

"Historically, this is the first time in the history of the Republic that a president has married in the course of his term. It's the first time a president has married at the Elysée," he said.

"Carla married in white and looked ravishing," Mr Lebel added.

Now the controversial model, whose past loves include Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton, will be France's First Lady.

Suggesting that the wedding was a last minute, spontaneous affair, Mr Sarkozy announced the cancellation of a visit to the military base at Creil, north of Paris, due for Saturday afternoon.

One of the reasons for the sudden marriage was apparently next month's planned state visit to Britain, with Mr Sarkozy concerned about being a guest of the Queen at Windsor Castle with only a "live-in lover" to accompany him.

Witnesses were Prada executive Mathilde Agostinelli - a close friend of the previous Madame Sarkozy - and Nicolas Bazire, managing director of Groupe Arnault and one of the richest men in France. France's Nicolas Sarkozy marries Carla Bruni >>> By Peter Allen in Paris

REUTERS:
Sarkozy marries Bruni at the Elysee By Crispian Balmer and Sudip Kar-Gupta

LE FIGARO:
Nicolas Sarkozy a épousé
Carla Bruni ce matin De Samuel Potier

LE MONDE:
Nicolas Sarkozy et Carla Bruni se sont mariés samedi matin à l'Elysée

EUROPE 1:
Nicolas Sarkozy et Carla Bruni maries

SUEDDEUTSCHE:
Hochzeit, na endlich: Seit Wochen wird ... spekuliert, Bruni erwarte ein Kind

NZZ Online: Nicolas Sarkozy und Carla Bruni haben geheiratet: Der französische Präsident vermählt sich mit der Sängerin >>>

BLICK:
Sarkozy hat gerade eine Scheidung hinter sich, Bruni, die sich selbst als sexuell massloss bezeichnet, hat schon ganz andere Alpha-Männchen in die Wüste geschickt: Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton oder Donald Trump können ein Lied davon singen. Und wahre Liebe dauere bei ihr sowieso «nie länger als drei Monate». – Blick

Ex-Frau Cécilia: [Nicolas Sarkozy ist] «unfähig zu lieben» - Blick

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Monsieur le Playboy!
Wie Nicolas Sarkozy sich benimmt ist fast nicht zum Glauben! Carla benimmt sich nicht als angehende ‘First Lady’ Frankreichs. Nicolas Sarkozy benimmt sich schon gar nicht als Präsident Frankreichs. Es wäre wirklich interessant herauszufinden, was diese Leute eigentlich denken. Glaubt Sarkozy, daß der Zweck der Übung ist es, in der ganzen Welt herumzujetten mit Carla auf seiner Seite?

Blick: Franzosen reissen sich um brisante Details*
*Vergessen Sie nicht die Fotos gut anzuschauen!

BLICK:
Wann macht er eigentlich noch Politik?

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Nicolas Sarkozy visite le Taj Mahal, sans Carla Bruni
Photo de Taj Mahal grâce au Tribune de Genève
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le président français Nicolas Sarkozy, en visite d'Etat en Inde, s'est rendu samedi au célèbre mausolée Taj Mahal près de la ville d'Agra, mais sans sa compagne Carla Bruni.

L'absence de l'amie du chef de l'Etat a été confirmée auprès de la présidence française et de responsables indiens, après plusieurs jours de rumeurs jamais commentées officiellement ni par Paris, ni par New Delhi.

Carla Bruni "n'a pas été vue dans l'entourage du président", a indiqué un responsable officiel indien accompagnant M. Sarkozy.

Ce dernier était suivi d'une imposante délégation française et indienne, mais sans Carla Bruni, a indiqué un photographe de l'AFP.

Le célèbre monument en marbre blanc était entièrement fermé aux touristes et sous haute sécurité. Sept autobus électriques --compte tenu de l'interdiction des véhicules à moteur autour du Taj Mahal endommagé par la pollution-- ont acheminé la délégation jusqu'au mausolée.

Cette visite touristique au Taj Mahal n'est pas un voyage "privé" mais fait partie de la visite d'Etat de M. Sarkozy entamée vendredi en Inde, où il a resserré les liens franco-indiens dans le nucléaire civil et le secteur de la défense. Nicolas Sarkozy visite le Taj Mahal, sans Carla Bruni >>>

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
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”Sarkonami”
Photo of Carla Bruni courtesy of Google Images
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Sex, politics, fame and public office: Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni, the president and the pop star, are everywhere these days. It's the latest soap opera from the cradle of modern democracy.

Every French television news program is reporting the same story these days, while a look at the Internet or the morning papers offers fewer surprises than a croissant and a café au lait: "Are they married?" "Will Carla travel with him to India for a state visit?" "A secret honeymoon in Italy?"

The stories about the private amours of French President Nicolas Sarkozy continued to circulate (more...) over the weekend. There wasn't a single rumor or bit of speculation about the president and his new girlfriend that wasn't being printed, broadcast or downloaded somewhere in France. By this point, it should come as no surprise that the French president's omnipresence in the media has finally reached a saturation point. "It's a veritable 'Sarkonami,' a tidal wave that washes away everything in its path; his appearances are practically drowning us," the Catholic newspaper Le Croix wrote derisively. "Soon we will need only three television shows every day: Sarko in the Morning, Sarko at Noon and Sarko in the Evening."

Nevertheless, the spin doctors at the Élysée Palace continue to dream up new episodes of the Sarko Show, using the marketing rules of the previous evening's programming as their guideline. "We are here so that we can spend the next five years writing a story with the French," says Cathérine Pégard, the president's PR advisor and media trendsetter. The script for this love story between the people and their sovereign is updated daily. "To be truly in touch with the French people, Sarkozy must be as mobile as possible," says Pégard, "which is why he is compressing the episodes, thus creating the impression of doing many things at the same time, or at least more than most people." 'Sarkozy Is Busy Dismantling the Fifth Republic' >>> By Stefan Simons in Paris

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
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Is this Sultry ‘Lady’, Carla Bruni, REALLY to Become the ‘First Lady of France’?
Photo of Carla Bruni courtesy of Google Images

EL PAÍS:
Carla Bruni

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Nicolas Sarkozy et Carla Bruni se seraient mariés jeudi à l'Elysée
L’EST RÉPUBLICAIN: Selon une source proche d'un témoin ayant assisté à leur union, le Président de la République Nicolas Sarkozy et l'ex- mannequin chanteuse Carla Bruni se seraient mariés jeudi dernier à l'Elysée. Interrogé cet après - midi alors qu'il accompagne le Président Sarkozy dans le Golfe, son conseiller en communication Franck Louvrier a déclaré: " cette information relève de la vie privée de Nicolas Sarkozy et je n'ai aucun commentaire à faire ". Une déclaration reprise par David Martinon, le secrétaire général de l'Elysée.



Mis en ligne à 15 h 45

De retour de ses escapades romantiques au pied des pyramides d'Egypte et à Petra en Jordanie, Nicolas Sarkozy avait affirmé et répété que son histoire d'amour avec Carla Bruni était " une affaire sérieuse ". Mardi dernier, lors de la première conférence de presse de son quinquennat devant six cents journalistes à l'Elysée, le président questionné sur sa vie sentimentale et sur l'éventualité d'un mariage avec l'ex mannequin Carla Bruni, avait répondu que " ce ne serait pas le Journal du Dimanche qui fixerait la date et qu'il y aurait de grandes chances pour que les medias l'apprennent après ". Selon de très bonnes sources émanant d'un proche d'un témoin qui aurait assisté à une petite cérémonie très intimiste, le Président de la République Nicolas Sarkozy et l'ancien mannequin vedette devenue chanteuse à succès Carla Bruni auraient convolé en justes noces jeudi dernier à l'Elysée. Nicolas Sarkozy et Carla Bruni se seraient mariés jeudi à l'Elysée >>> De Laïd Sammari

DAILY MAIL:
President Sarkozy and supermodel lover Carla Bruni 'marry in secret ceremony' By Peter Allen

HAMBURGER ABENDBLATT:
Hochzeit von Sarkozy und Bruni

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
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Sarko the Karaoke Crooner!
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Nicolas Sarkozy has been revealed to be a frustrated romantic crooner with the emergence of footage of the French president singing along to a video of the country's veteran rock and roller Johnny Hallyday.

Just days after a new book quoted his ex-wife Cécilia accusing him of being a serial philanderer obsessed with performing "karaoke until 4am", the cringe-worthy footage of Mr Sarkozy taken from a television show is proving a hit with users of French internet sites where it is posted.

In the long-forgotten clip from the Thé ou Café? talk show, there is more than a hint of an Elvis quiff about Mr Sarkozy's jet black hair as, microphone in hand, he swivels his hips and warbles along to the 1976 hit Gabrielle.

Its tortured lyrics, including lines like "Your love strangles my life", painfully reflect the momentous changes in the President's personal circumstances.

Since obtaining a divorce last October, Mr Sarkozy, 52, has enjoyed a whirlwind romance with the former supermodel turned singer Carla Bruni, 40, and the pair are expected to marry.

Miss Bruni has even set up a "pop music room" at the Elysée palace. 

But in outspoken attacks reported in no less than three new books last week, the President's former First Lady has accused him of being a love cheat with a "behavioural problem". 



One of the worst manifestations of this, she alleges, is his reliance on late night karaoke sessions which he has in the past used to woo other women. Nicolas Sarkozy's karaoke crooning >>> By Peter Allen in Paris

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Cécilia Sarkozy: "Carla Bruni Won't Make Him Forget Me in a Hurry!"
Photo of Nicolas and Cécilia courtesy of The Telegraph
THE TELEGRAPH: President Nicolas Sarkozy's ex-wife Cécilia has branded him a "stingy philanderer" with a "behavioural problem" who is an "unworthy president" of France.

Cécilia Sarkozy is reported to have made the comments before Mr Sarkozy hinted that he will marry the ex-supermodel Carla Bruni following a whirlwind affair of less than three months.

As the Élysée palace soap opera descended to new depths of vitriol, Mrs Sarkozy alleged that her 52-year-old ex-husband was "a man who likes no-one, not even his children".

According to a new book, she even called the president's other female friends "a bunch of slappers" and young female government ministers "boring wallflowers".

Mrs Sarkozy is also said to have launched a thinly veiled attack on the president's 40-year-old fiancee, telling a friend: "Carla Bruni won't make him forget me in a hurry!"

Although Mr Sarkozy is expected to marry Miss Bruni, Mrs Sarkozy is unconvinced that her ex-husband of eleven years has got over her, and he is currently on the rebound. Nicolas Sarkozy's ex attacks 'stingy' husband >>> By Peter Allen in Paris

THE GUARDIAN:
Sarkozy’s ex-wife fails to ban book of revelations By David Batty and agencies

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Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Sarkozy's Love on the Nile
Watch Video
Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Präsident Sarkozy geht mit schlechtem Beispiele voran
Nicolas Sarkozy benimmt sich ordinär, und anscheinend glaubt er eher Filmstar zu sein als Staatspräsident Frankreichs. Er sollte daran denken, daß das Amt eines Staatschefs mit Würde ausgeübt werden sollte.

Es sind kaum drei Monate seitdem er sich scheiden ließ. Wäre es wirklich zu viel zu erwarten, daß er eine kleine Weile als lediger Mann auf der Weltbühne auftauchen könnte bevor er wieder sich heiraten läßt?

Manchmal schaut er "bonked out" in die Welt! Man muß sich nicht mehr wundern, warum Cécilia ihn verlassen hat!

Ich finde es nicht richtig, daß ein Staatschef sich so benimmt. Er will mit lauter Pop-Stars, den Überreichen, und den Mächtigen zu tun haben. Hat er überhaupt Interesse in der Politik, jetzt daß er Präsident gewält worden ist? Oder will er nur als Playboy da stehen? Wann findet er eigentlich Zeit seine Arbeit zu tun?

Noch mehr: Ist es wirklich passend für einen Präsident von Frankreich in der ganzen Welt herum zu reisen, und mit seiner Geliebte in der Öffentlichkeit zu schlafen, bevor sie geheiratet sind? Was für ein Vorbild ist das für die Jugendlichen? Ein Staatspräsident sollte nicht einfach die Dekadenz des Westens wiederspiegeln sondern den Leuten einen besseren Weg zeigen. Schließlich gehört das dem Amt! Darum ist er so viel bezahlt. Wenn er sich so aufnehmen will, dann wäre es besser gewesen, wenn er sich eine andere Karriere gewält hätte, und wenn er nicht im Rampenlicht wäre.

Ich finde es erstaunlich, daß er die Frechheit – ja die Frechheit – gehabt hat, nach Ägypten und Jordanien, islamischen Ländern, mit Carla Bruni zu reisen, und mit ihr Hand in Hand herumzuspazieren, ‘was andere Leute des strengen Islams wegen nicht tun dürften.

Ich sage dies nicht so sehr wegen Islam, sondern wegen der Ehre seines Amts und wegen unserer Zivilisation. Wenn wir so weiter gehen, werden wir den Untergang des Westens viel schneller erleben als man glaubt.

©Mark Alexander

Carla darf nicht mit Sarkozy nach Saudi Arabien reisen
DIE PRESSE: Carla Bruni darf den Präsidenten nicht nach Saudi-Arabien begleiten, denn das würde einen Verstoß gegen islamisches Recht bedeuten.

Das Herrscherhaus von Saudi-Arabien hat dem französischen Präsidenten Nicolas Sarkozy mitgeteilt, dass er seine neue Freundin Carla Bruni nicht zum Staatsbesuch in Riad mitbringen kann. Zur Begründung hieß es, in dem Königreich gelte das islamische Recht ("Scharia").

Kontakte zwischen Männern und Frauen, die nicht miteinander verheiratet oder verwandt seien, sind in Saudi-Arabien, wo eine besonders puritanische Version des sunnitischen Islams Staatsreligion ist, generell verboten. Aus Diplomatenkreisen in der saudischen Hauptstadt hieß es am Montag, Sarkozy habe zugesagt, am kommenden Sonntag ohne seine Freundin zu seinen Gesprächen mit König Abdullah zu reisen. Riad: Sarkozy darf seine Geliebte nicht mitnehmen >>>

DIE PRESSE:
Galerie: “Sarkozys neue Schöne”

DIE PRESSE:
"Speedy Sarkos": Blitz-Hochzeit schadet Glaubwürdigkeit

WELTONLINE:
Liebespause: Bruni darf nicht mit Sarkozy nach Saudi Arabien

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”Sark-Opera”: 'Unseemly Sarko' Seen as Vulgar, and His Behaviour Seen as “Not in Keeping” with a Head of State as He Rushes into Marriage with “Man-Eater” Carla Bruni “on the Rebound”
TIMESONLINE: President Sarkozy is planning to marry Carla Bruni, his singer girlfriend, in early February, just over two months after meeting her and three since his wife divorced him, according to French and Italian reports today.

As the Elysée Palace made no attempt to deny an imminent wedding, pollsters said that the President's exhibition of the former Italian supermodel and his haste in replacing Cecilia, his wife, explained part of a seven-point slump in his approval rating over the past month.

"Speedy Sarko", 52, today gave the traditionalists more reason to view his conduct as unseemly when he posed for photographers holding hands with Ms Bruni, 40, on a trip to Jordan as guests of King Adullah II. Nicolas Sarkozy ‘to wed Carla Bruni next month’ >>> By Charles Bremner

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Sarkozy: Bonked Out?
What do you think?

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Sarkozy Meets Pope, But Without Carla Bruni
Photo of Sarkozy with Carla Bruni courtesy of The Times
TIMESONLINE: Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, was received by Pope Benedict XVI on an official visit to Rome this morning - but without Carla Bruni, his Italian-born girlfriend.

Both French and Italian media had speculated that Mr Sarkozy and Ms Bruni would enjoy a pre-Christmas “Roman holiday”.

Christophe Barbier, the editor of the French magazine L'Express, which broke the news of the Sarkozy-Bruni relationship, had suggested that Rome would be Ms Bruni's first appearance as unofficial “First Lady” of France.

However Vatican officials made clear to the Elysée Palace that Ms Bruni would not be welcome at the encounter because she and the French President are not married. Under Vatican protocol it was “inappropriate” for a head of state to meet the pontiff on an official visit accompanied by a girlfriend, sources said. Sarkozy meets Pope – but ex-model girlfriend Carla Bruni is not welcome >>> By Richard Owen in Rome

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