French in a frenzy over Sarkozy and Bruni rumours

FRANCE was buzzing last night as claims President Nicolas Sarkozy and his supermodel wife Carla Bruni were both having affairs gathered steam.

What started out as a rumour on Twitter yesterday began appearing in mainstream French media.

It was first tweeted that Sarkozy’s pop singer wife of two years was involved with the French musician Benjamin Biolay, who is six years her junior. Webzine suchablog.com later suggested Bruni, 43, and Biolay had built a love nest together at a flat in Paris.

Not long after, the French were hit with another bombshell rumour – their 55-year-old president was also having an affair, with his ecology minister – and karate champion – Chantal Jouanno, 40.

So far Sarkozy has refused to confirm or deny the gossip. But in an interview recorded last Friday and released yesterday, Bruni told Sky News that Sarkozy would never cheat on her and she described their love story as a “real fairy tale”.

However, since the rumours started yesterday, neither Sarkozy nor Bruni have spoken publicly.

The rumours yesterday appeared on the website of leading French newspaper, Le Journal du Dimanche.

Bruni once remarked she is “easily bored by monogamy”. Her previous lovers include Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton and Donald Trump.

This is the first time the marriage has been reported to have been in trouble since the couple wed, only three months after meeting each other at a dinner party in 2008.

Back then Sarkozy had only just become single following the split from his second wife, Cecilia Ciganer-Albeniz.

A spokesman for Jouanno said she was “scandalised by this rumour” and was prepared to pursue legally any “slanderous comments”.

Le Journal du Dimanche said: “A romance is said to have started a few weeks ago between the First Lady of France and music award-winner Benjamin Biolay.”

It added that the presidential marriage was “breathing its last breaths”.

“Carla Bruni is in love with Benjamin Biolay and the president has found solace with Chantal Jouanno.”

According to Le Journal du Dimanche, “the rumour started on Twitter and is now on blogs and websites everywhere.

“It’s the gossip of the moment that could become the story of the year.”

Sarkozy and Bruni have both reportedly had affairs in past relationships.

Sarkozy reportedly had an affair with his second wife, Cecilia Ciganer-Albeniz, while he was still married to first wife Marie-Dominique Culioli.

Online French publication, www.suchablog.com, reported Bruni had been a close friend of the 37-year-old musician for many years and is now “unofficially living with him at his flat in Paris”.

Sarkozy’s spokesman at the Elysee Palace in Paris has said he has “absolutely no comment” on the rumours, but speculation mounted that the pair are holding on to the last threads of their relationship just until the end of Sarkozy’s presidency.

The French establishment media is legendarily indifferent when it comes to covering the private affairs of their elected leaders.

So there has been no questioning of the president about all this.

The way the possible scandal has slowly emerged in France stands in stark contrast to how it would be covered in the tabloid culture of the US media, according to observers.

The president and French-Italian former model and singer have always been flamboyant and prompted all kinds of speculations and rumours, including that Sarkozy was begging his former wife Cecilia to get back together, torumours of a Sarkozy-Bruni baby.

Bloggers said are more details are likely to become public after the March 21 regional elections in France. Other websites to chronicle the rumour include the well-known blog Le Post, Yahoo News France and Agoravoxtv.

On television, only the news channel i-tele has suggested that Sarkozy and Jouanno, and Bruni and Biolay, are close.

An i-tele presenter said on the air that Bruni was the first to congratulate Biolay for his awards, and wondered if Sarkozy had had the time to congratulate minister Jouanno on her karate win.