Nicolas Sarkozy married Carla Bruni at Elysee palace

January 14, 2008

French President Nicolas Sarkozy married Carla Bruni at a private ceremony held at the Elysee palace last week, according to reports.

In a report posted on its website on Monday, L'Est Republicain newspaper quoted an unnamed "source close to a witness who attended the ceremony" as saying that it was a "small, very private" affair at the presidential palace.

Presidential spokesman David Martinon declined to comment on the report.

Sarkozy, 52, told a news conference last week that his relationship with 40-year-old Bruni was "serious" and suggested he planned to marry the former supermodel.

"There is a strong chance that you will learn about it once it's already been done," the president said.

The Journal du Dimanche reported earlier that the couple would marry around February 9.

Rumours about an imminent marriage have been flying since last week and a Paris city hall office in the chic 16th district was besieged by journalists on Thursday who had received a tip-off that the couple were getting married there.

L'Est Republicain journalist Laid Sammari, who wrote the story, told AFP the newspaper had "good reason" to decide to run the story, but added that he was being cautious "because I did not personally attend the ceremony."

In October, Sarkozy became the first French president to divorce while in office when he ended his stormy 11-year marriage to Cecilia Ciganer-Albaniz, with whom he has a 10-year-old son, Louis.

He also has two sons, Pierre, 22, and Jean, 21, from a previous marriage to Marie-Dominique Culioli.

Sarkozy was on Monday on a visit to Saudi Arabia and was to head to Dubai on Tuesday.

Bruni may accompany Sarkozy on a state visit to India later this month, and an Indian foreign ministry official said her presence would cause "no protocol problem from our side".

Bruni's previous affairs with such rock stars as Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton have provided regular tabloid headlines and she was quoted in a French magazine last year as saying "Monogamy bores me terribly".