Segolene Royal--a Breath of Fresh Air in France

French Leader and Ex-Model Wed in Quiet Ceremony Ben Curtis/Associated Press

Carla Bruni and Nicolas Sarkozy in Cairo in December. Their very public courtship struck some of the French as distasteful, and it created protocol problems when the two traveled together.y ELAINE SCIOLINO Published: February 3, 2008

PARIS - She has called herself "a tamer of men" and described monogamy as boring.

The French President's Lover (January 13, 2008)

A Politically Dangerous Liaison for France's President (January 8, 2008)

Disneyland Date Has Sarkozy in the Limelight (December 18, 2007)

But on Saturday morning, only three months after their first meeting, the super-model-turned-pop-singer Carla Bruni and the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, were married in a small, 20-minute civil ceremony at the Élysée Palace.

Official confirmation came initially not from the Élysée but from the mayor of the Eighth Arrondissement, who officiated at the ceremony; the presidential palace is in that district.

"I married two voters of the Eighth Arrondissement district who live at 55 Rue du Faubourg St.-Honoré!" Mayor François Lebel told Europe 1 radio, giving the Élysée's address.

Clearly enjoying his sudden celebrity, Mr. Lebel added: "The bride was in white. She was ravishing as usual. But the bridegroom wasn't bad either."

About 20 family members and close friends witnessed the ceremony, which Mr. Lebel described later in a telephone interview as "intimate, warm and familial."

"The newlyweds were visibly emotional and in love," he said. "They kissed after their exchange of vows."

Marisa Borini, the bride's mother, was less gushy. "They got married this morning at the Élysée," she said in a brief telephone conversation in Italian. Asked to describe the scene, she said she was busy and hung up.

It was several hours before the Élysée issued a one-sentence statement confirming the wedding. "Ms. Carla Bruni Tedeschi and Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy would like to announce that they were married this morning in the presence of their families and in the utmost privacy," it said.

Nicolas Bazire, who leads the private investment company of the French billionaire Bernard Arnault, and Mathilde Agostinelli, director of communications for Prada France (and a close friend of Mr. Sarkozy's second wife, Cécilia), were the witnesses for Mr. Sarkozy, Mr. Lebel said on French television. The actresses Farida Khelfa and Marine Delterme were witnesses for Ms. Bruni.

In the last two months, Mr. Sarkozy's popularity has dropped precipitously, both because of his failure to revive France's ailing economy and what has been called the "Carla effect."

The exceptionally tolerant French did not seem bothered that Mr. Sarkozy's 11-year marriage ended in divorce in October, after his wife left him. But his very public relationship with Ms. Bruni, an Italian-born heiress who has been linked romantically with a variety of men - from Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton to former Prime Minister Laurent Fabius - struck many of the French as lacking taste.

So did their exchange of about $125,000 worth of presents at Christmas.

Foreign publications have reveled in digging up photos of Ms. Bruni, 40, in various levels of undress, and posting them on the Internet.

However, the marriage will end the protocol nightmare that resulted from the couple's love affair and is likely to be embraced by the romantic French.

"It's better to have a companion to whom you can tell everything," the former first lady Bernadette Chirac told RTL radio.

Asked whether the event would upset life at the Élysée, she replied: "I don't know, but it doesn't stun me. I find it very joyful! A marriage at the Élysée is marvelous!"

World events intruded on the day of celebration. As rebels penetrated the capital of Chad, a former French colony, Mr. Sarkozy held a crisis meeting at the Élysée and spoke by telephone with Chad's president.

The twice-divorced Mr. Sarkozy, who just turned 53, is only the second president to be married while in office. Gaston Doumergue, a lawyer, Protestant and the son of a winemaker, was single when he was elected president in 1924. Twelve days before he left office in 1931, he married his childhood sweetheart.

Meanwhile, Cécilia Sarkozy remains in the news as the subject of three recent books.

One of them, "Ruptures," by two French journalists, details her role in the release from Libya of foreign health care workers who had been imprisoned on charges of infecting children with the virus that causes AIDS.

The authors described her as the "James Bond girl from Neuilly," the upscale Paris suburb where the Sarkozys had an apartment.

When underlings of the Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, resisted his orders to free the prisoners, they wrote, she ordered her bodyguards to shoot open the cell locks with their handguns.

Maia de la Baume and Basil Katz contributed reporting.

Segolene Royal in her just published book rips fellow Socialists and her former partner Francois Hollande for failing to support her election campaign. She vowes to run again and defeat Sarkozy in the next election in 2012.

Here's a link to a Times Online story on Royal's book introduction.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2994782.ece

Split of Segolene Royale and her mate, Francois Hollande, likely to complicate life for France's Socialist Party. Reportedly Ms. Royal said the coupls's 25year relationship ended because of Hollande's infidelity.

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=81986

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/19/world/europe/19france.html

Can Sarkozy and the next American president reverse the damage of the Bush administration? Salon.com article by Gregory Levey. http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/06/15/sarkozy/

Bernard Kouchner a not very diplomatic liberal appointed as France's top diplomat by Sarkozy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/19/world/europe/19kouchner.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Polls give Sarkozy a commanding 10 point lead in the French predisential election. Voter turn-out is high with 34% voting by noon today.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-france-election.html?hp

Preliminary results indicate that Nicholas Sarkozy received about 29 percent of the votes and Segolene Royal approximately 26 percent. CentristFrancois Bayrou was third with 18 percent, and he may hold the key to a Royal victory if an alliance can be arranged. Turnout in the primary was high--84 percent of eligible voters. Here is the NY Times report 4/22 pm reportL

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/world/europe/23francecnd.html?pagewanted=1&hp

This morning's NYTimes reports that a recent poll put Segolene Royal only one point behind Nicholas Sarkozy, 26 percent to 27 percent. Another put Sarkozy's lead at 28 percent to 23 for Royal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/20/world/europe/20france.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

In the final days of the primary election, Segolene Royal appealed for women to support her candidacy. Some women in her party criticize this tactic. Here's the latest on the election from the NYTimes, April 19,2007:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/world/europe/19france.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin

As the first round of the election approaches in three weeks immigration issues have become an increasingly important factor with the positions among the major candidates ranging from Sarkozy's proposal for a "ministry of immigration and national identity" on the right to Royal's and Bayrou's emphasis on employment and assimilation of immigrants. Both have criticized Sarkozy's proposal Two years ago Sarkozy's promise to rid French North African and Muslim suburbs of "scum" touched off days of rioting. Here's the latest from the NY Times on the upcoming election.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/30/world/europe/30france.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Recently Segolene Royal has been campaigning in the Paris suburbs for the immigrant vote, the people her opponent called "scum" last year on the occasion of the riots.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-France-Troubled-Suburbs.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

The leading candidate for President of France is Segolene Royal, a moderate socialist and quite a looker. If she's elected, she'll join Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany and Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile. Women heads of state seem to be increasingly in fashion.

12-26

GENDER WAR A LA FRANCAISE SHAKES UP POLITICAL ARENA--Candidate turns her sex into an asset

Segolene Royal is capitalizing on her feminity and winning support, especially among French men. Pardoxically, women are more skeptical. Here's a long article on France's current political phenomenon by Elaine Sciolino in today's NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/26/world/europe/26france.html

A CANDIDATE ABROAD

Segolene Royal's 5-day swing through the Middle East generates criticism from the right. She stakes out a more middle-of-the-road position on Palestine-Israel than the traditional Arab-leaning French position.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/world/europe/06france.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segolene_Royal

Segolene Royal pays a visit to former French protectorate, Lebanon.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/30/africa/ME_GEN_Lebanon_France_Royal.php

Royal Promises Changes

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6157130.stm

Segolene and Hillary--future presidents?

http://select.nytimes.com/iht/2006/12/05/world/IHT-05politicus.html

Segolene Royal Closer Bikini Photo Controversy

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/2006/08/segolene_royal_closer_bikini_photos/

Profile of Segolene Royal by John Thornhill in Arts & Weekend Magazine

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/7686d080-5f43-11db-a011-0000779e2340.html