TWO months after his divorce, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, appears to be back on the dating scene.
He was spotted at Disneyland Paris with supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni, who has previously dated Mick Jagger and Donald Trump.
The president's office would not comment on their status, but there has been speculation the very public appearan
ce – in a crowded theme park, with paparazzi on their trail – amounted to an announcement that they are together.
Colombe Pringle, the director of Point de Vue magazine, said she believed Mr Sarkozy and Ms Bruni's appearance was calculated. "If you go to Disneyland to see the parade, that means you want people to know about it," she said.
Christophe Barbier, the editor of L'Express, said he called Ms Bruni, whom he described as a friend, before going public with the story. "She confirmed the relationship," he said.
Pascal Rostain, a photographer who covered the pair, said he knows Ms Bruni and that "she is living a true love story, and the president is, too". He added: "They have nothing to hide."
Most members of Mr Sarkozy's government declined to say anything about the president's love life, although Christine Boutin, the housing minister, remarked: "If the president is happy, so much the better."
Ms Bruni, a 39-year-old longtime model, who was born in Italy, won critical acclaim for her first folk album in 2003, singing in a raspy, whispery voice. She has dated a range of famous men: besides Jagger and Trump, she has also been linked with Eric Clapton and actor Vincent Perez.
Mr Sarkozy, 52, has often put his private and family life on display for the media. After his May election victory, he sent his former wife, Cecilia, on a high-profile trip to Libya to free Bulgarian medics imprisoned there for infecting children with the HIV virus.
He bristled, however, at intense media interest in the end of his tempestuous relationship with Cecilia, his second wife. They divorced in October.
The coverage of Mr Sarkozy's divorce – and the intense buzz about the sighting of him with Ms Bruni last Saturday – is a sign that the French media is losing its traditional reticence about reporting on politicians' love lives, while the public is growing more curious.
Denis Muzet, of the Mediascopie think tank, said showing up at Disneyland with Ms Bruni "is a way of saying, 'you see, I have moments of happiness, too, I'm going to have a merry Christmas'."
The full article contains 421 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
