PARIS – French President Nicolas Sarkozy's girlfriend, former model Carla Bruni, is suing low-cost airline Ryanair for euro500,000 (US$740,500) after it used a photo of the couple in an ad, their lawyer said Wednesday.
The ad, published Monday in the French daily Le Parisien, shows the smiling couple with a comic book speech bubble coming from Bruni's saying: "With Ryanair, all my family can come to my wedding."
Sarkozy's office said earlier this week that he planned to take legal action, without providing details. Both he and Bruni ended up filing separate suits, according to copies of court documents obtained by The Associated Press. A hearing was scheduled for Thursday.
While Sarkozy is asking for one symbolic euro in damages, Bruni is demanding euro500,000 because that is the average sum she receives for the use of her image in France, said the couple's lawyer, Thierry Herzog.
Sarkozy, 53, has hinted that a wedding with Bruni, 40, is in the cards, though the couple has not yet revealed a date. They reportedly met and began dating in November, about a month after Sarkozy's divorce from his second wife, Cecilia.
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