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Nicolas Sarkozy (L) and Carla Bruni during a visit to the Giza pyramids in Cairo last December. (Reuters) Last update - 20:58 02/02/2008 French Pres. Sarkozy and model Carla Bruni marry at Elysee Palace By The Associated Press Tags: France, Nicolas Sarkozy  French President Nicolas Sarkozy married former model Carla Bruni in a small ceremony Saturday, the couple announced. Sarkozy, 53, and Bruni, 40, have had a whirlwind courtship, marrying less than three months after they reportedly first met, and less than four months after Sarkozy divorced his second wife, Cecilia. In a terse statement, the couple said only that they were married this morning in the presence of their families in the strictest privacy. The official statement followed an announcement of the wedding several hours earlier from the mayor who had performed the ceremony at the presidential Elysee Palace. Advertisement "The bride wore white; she was ravishing, as usual," Francois Lebel, mayor of Paris' eighth arrondissement, or neighborhood, told Europe-1 radio. "The groom wasn't bad either." About 20 people attended the ceremony, he said. Lebel called it a moment of "family intimacy for the young newlyweds, of great simplicity and apparently a lot of affection between the spouses." "I wished them a lot of happiness," he said. Under French law, couples must marry before a mayor to make their union official. Sarkozy was not the first French president to marry in office: Gaston Doumergue tied the knot at the Elysee Palace in 1931. Sarkozy could not devote the entire day to celebrations: he was busy with a crisis in Chad, the former French colony in central Africa. As rebels penetrated Chad's capital, Sarkozy called a meeting at the Elysee Palace and spoke by telephone with Chad's president. Sarkozy's openness about his private life has surprised many French, accustomed to presidents who keep their love lives under wraps. At a news conference in January, Sarkozy revealed that the relationship was serious and hinted that wedding plans were in the works. But he refused to reveal the date for a wedding, saying just that France might only learn about the nuptials once they had already taken place. Former first lady Bernadette Chirac offered her congratulations, adding that it was helpful for a president to have a spouse. "It's better to have a companion to whom you can say what you need to say and can't say to everyone," she told RTL radio. "You need a punching ball." Sarkozy and Bruni went public with their relationship during a visit to Disneyland Paris, and they carried out their brief but highly publicized courtship in such places as the ruins of Petra, Jordan. The tabloids even showed the couple at an Egyptian beach resort, Bruni clad in a tiny black bikini, Sarkozy in trunks, gold chain and Ray-Bans. Sarkozy's approval ratings dropped during their courtship - in part, analysts say, because many older, more traditional voters were put off by the time he was spending on his romance, as well as by his glitzy, jet-setting style. During their courtship, Sarkozy was nicknamed the bling-bling president by the media. He reportedly gave Bruni a pink, heart-shaped diamond Dior engagement ring, while she gave him a Swiss-made Patek Philippe watch. The wedding was the third for Sarkozy, who has three sons. It was the first for Bruni, an Italian-born heiress who had a major modeling career and a well-publicized love life. Bruni, now a singer, dated rockers Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton, tycoon Donald Trump and actor Vincent Perez. She has a young son, Aurelien, from a relationship with philosophy professor Raphael Enthoven Bookmark to del.icio.us   'British Oskar Schindler' Nicholas Winton, who saved 669 Jewish children during the Holocaust, is up for the Nobel. Pride of Israel Tennis: Shahar Peer beats Russia's Dinara Safina to give Israel 1-0 lead in the Fed Cup.   1.   I was hoping 21:33  |  Mark Lincoln 02/02/08   2.   Sarkozy has shown, he aint no loser. 22:23  |  Stephen. 02/02/08   3.   Whatever... MAZEL-TOV !! 22:37  |  Esther 02/02/08   4.   felicitations 23:25  |  frenz 02/02/08   5.   What every country needs 00:03  |  Clickfool 03/02/08   6.   French President Marriage 01:14  |  E.J. Marlette 03/02/08   7.   # 5. Hell is dmade of people like you. - Clickfool 01:14  |  Rozz 03/02/08   8.   # 5. Hell is dmade of people like you. - Clickfool 01:14  |  Rozz 03/02/08   9.   President & Carla 01:17  |  Rozz 03/02/08   10.   Gulliani ll, what a moral man... 03:00  |  jc 03/02/08   11.   Yes, What Every Country Needs! 08:11  |  Puregoldj 03/02/08   12.   clickfool and the UK 13:20  |  trevor 03/02/08   13.   Sarkozy or Perez? 19:30  |  One Woman`s Opinion 03/02/08

Today Online Barak: We urgently need a fence along Egyptian border Responses: 131 IDF commander gets 15 months in prison for W. Bank rampage Responses: 61 U.S. Methodist Church renews drive for divestment from Israel Responses: 148 Report: JNF parks to mark demolished Palestinian villages Responses: 35 Al-Qaida claims attack near Israeli Embassy in Mauritania Responses: 27 For all the excitement, very little has changed in the Gaza Strip Responses: 34 Rosner's Domain Obama, Clinton and Iran: The vote that made the difference Not despite Iraq - because of Iraq Super Tuesday: Counting the Jewish votes (WTR) Poll: Is there a "constant virulent campaign" against Obama? The campaign for Darfur has achieved all its goals - but one More Headlines 19:30 Shin Bet: Militants slipped advanced arms into Gaza 18:44 Egypt: We won't tolerate further attempts to breach Gaza border 18:37 MKs slam Barak decision to remain in government despite campaign pledge 18:41 Report: JNF parks to mark demolished Palestinian villages 18:50 Brothers jailed for plan to set fire to cars during Gaza pullout 16:39 Obama, Clinton and Iran: The vote that made the difference 17:14 Mika: I want to work with Winehouse on her 'Jewish album' 19:16 IAEA chief brushes off concern over Arab nuclear development 17:09 New biography seeks to understand the man who hid Anne Frank 11:16 U.S. Methodist Church renews drive for divestment from Israel 16:59 Shin Bet chief: Trial of soldiers' murderers near Hebron a 'farce' 18:33 Gov't considers ban on exporting Gaza farm produce via Israel Previous Editions Select Day 01 feb 31 jan 30 jan 29 jan 28 jan 27 jan 25 jan 24 jan 23 jan 22 jan 21 jan 20 jan

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