Last update - 00:00 23/03/2008
Sarkozy's ex-wife due to wed Jewish multi-millionaire in N.Y.
By Haaretz Service
Cecilia Ciganer-Albeniz, the former wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, is due to marry a Moroccan-born Jewish public relations executive in New York on Sunday, according to the French-based Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.
The celebration is to be held at New York's famous Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center, in front of 150 guests- many of whom flew in from Europe for the nuptials, according to a schedule of the celebration events seen by AFP.
Ciganer-Albeniz's involvement with Richard Attias, a multi-millionaire events organizer, first became public when the couple were photographed leaving a New York hotel together in 2005, during a break in Ciganer-Albeniz's marriage to Sarkozy, according to AFP.
She later returned to Sarkozy, but the couple announced their divorce last October, ending a rough 11-year marriage.
According to the program seen by AFP, details regarding the wedding had been shrouded in secrecy. Rumors circulating said the couple would hold a Jewish ceremony at a Manhattan synagogue on Sunday, but there was no mention of any religious ceremony on the program.
The AFP report revealed that guests of the couple kicked off three days of celebrations on Friday with a party at Attias's Connecticut home. On Saturday, they were treated to dinner at a glitzy 1920s steakhouse just off Broadway in New York City.
They were later due to take in the ABBA-themed Broadway show "Mamma Mia!"
According to reports found by AFP, guests have been told not to bring cameras or phones with cameras, to protect the couple's privacy.
AFP also revealed reports saying that French magazine Paris-Match had declined an offer of exclusive rights to cover the wedding, apparently over fears of upsetting Sarkozy, known to be friendly with the magazine's owner, Arnaud Lagardere.
Italian fashion house Versace announced earlier it would be dressing the couple for the occasion, according to the French news agency.
In February, less than four months after his divorce, Sarkozy, 53, married Carla Bruni, the Italian-born former model turned singer-songwriter.
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