News about Nicolas Sarkozy

Former First Lady of France Carla Bruni revealed one major regret about her 'first and probably last' fashion show. Carla, 56, opened up to Page Six Style while preparing backstage for her VS debut on Tuesday. 'My only regret is that my husband is not here. He would have had a heart attack!'  the model and muse said, referencing the former French president, Nicolas Sarkozy.

'A few nights ago I heard her calling for me,' says medical secretary Ira Ariev. 'I woke up in such a panic, because I really heard her voice.' The mother-of-two was talking about her youngest daughter, Karina, and while she undoubtedly recognised her distinctive voice she knew her girl was not in the room. Because the 20-year-old was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7 and is still in Gaza today, almost certainly inside one of its many squalid, cramped tunnels dozens of feet underground. It is hard to imagine how a mother could get through just one day knowing her daughter is held by monsters who gleefully broadcast the rape and slaughter of 1,200 men, women and children that day. But for Ira, she has had to endure this nightmare for a year, every waking hour of which has been spent imagining what these men, alone with her child, are capable of.

L'Oreal scion Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, who has vast inherited wealth from her grandparents, was toppled from the top of the list in recent weeks but a surge in Luxury European stock has reinstated the billionaire above the previous title holder, Walmart heiress Alice Walton. (Pictured from left: Francoise Bettencourt Meyers. Inset: Alice Walton)

How unnecessary of Prince Harry to evoke Diana when he controversially accepted the Pat Tillman Award - named after an American war hero who died in Afghanistan. At the glitzy Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards in Los Angeles, Harry paid tribute to Pat's mother, saying: 'Her advocacy for Pat's legacy is deeply personal and one that I respect.' Then, clearly referring to his relationship with Diana, he said: 'The bond between a mother and son is eternal and transcends even the greatest losses.' All perfectly innocent, you might think - he was nominated for his relatively brief war record and his role in creating The Invictus Games for injured veterans.

Casting her vote in France's knife-edge parliamentary elections last weekend with her husband, former president Nicolas Sarkozy, felt like a return to the glory days for Carla Bruni. As ever the cameras were drawn to the former model, chic in a navy blazer and tailored dark slacks, rather than the diminutive - and disgraced - Sarkozy, the first ex-president in post-war France to have been given a custodial sentence for corruption. Sunday's outing to a polling station close to the townhouse they share in the swanky 16th arrondissement, home to the city's wealthiest and most flamboyant citizens, was a chance to show that despite their travails they are as involved in the affairs of state as they were when the strutting Sarkozy occupied the Elysee Palace and Carla was at his side as First Lady. But to close students of the Italian-born former supermodel, now 56, whose coquettish behaviour and extravagant boasts have amused and infuriated Parisians for almost 20 years, all was not well.

The ex-supermodel and singer was questioned by a French judge today in connection with the investigation, which could lead to her being charged. Four sources familiar with the case said Bruni, 56, was brought before a Paris investigating magistrate for financial crime at 10.00am (8.00am GMT) on Tuesday. Her interview was 'likely to continue' into Wednesday before she finds out whether she will be charged, one of the sources said. According to one source close to the case, Bruni-Sarkozy is suspected of concealment of witness tampering and involvement in an attempt to bribe Lebanese judicial personnel, among other violations.

The former French president and his wife arrived in France on Sunday to vote in the first round of snap parliamentary elections in Paris. Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy were pictured preparing to vote amid the country's most polarising ballot in decades which could see the anti-immigrant and eurosceptic party of Marine Le Pen sweep to power in a historic first. Donning chic black suits and shades, the couple arrived at the Paris polling station holding hands before meeting with other voters and staff inside. Polls opened at 6am and will close at 4pm in small towns and cities, with a 6pm finish in the bigger cities, when the first exit polls for the night and seat projections for the decisive second round a week later are expected. Voters in France's overseas territories cast their ballots earlier this weekend - with some 49million people eligible to vote in the historic snap election .

Mary-Kate Olsen treated herself to an early birthday present, from her luxury fashion brand, which she founded alongside twin sister Ashley, on Wednesday afternoon. One day before turning 38, the designer was seen enjoying some retail therapy with her boyfriend PC Valmorbida, who she began dating in 2023. For their laid-back outing, the former child star, who rose to fame playing Michelle Tanner on Full House between 1987 to 1995, cut a casual figure in an oversized grey t-shirt, dark pants and a pair of red flats. Valmorbida, a Melbourne-born art trader, opted to wear a white Nike tee, bright red shorts and a pair of white sneakers with blue accents.

President Joe Biden was feted by his French counterpart on Saturday evening with a formal state dinner in Paris celebrating relations between France and the United States. Singer Pharrell Williams , actors Salma Hayek and Léa Seydoux, tennis great John McEnroe, in town for the French Open , were all on the guest list, along with political heavyweights and titans of the fashion industry. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy came with wife Carla Bruni.

Luann de Lesseps shared the story of how she lost her virginity in a candid new interview.  The RHONY alum, 59, revealed that she was a 'late bloomer' who 'didn't feel confident' while discussing her dating history with Bustle, in an article published on Wednesday.  The TV personality - who was recently linked to Mary-Kate Olsen's ex-husband - admitted she did not have a 'boyfriend or have sex until I was 18 years old' and that she lost her virginity at senior prom to an 'older' man. 

Former French first lady and supermodel Carla Bruni (left) was today being questioned by police as a criminal suspect in a wide-ranging corruption case. The 56-year-old is said to have tried to 'whitewash' her husband, former President Nicolas Sarkozy (right, on the left), 69, over allegations that he accepted millions in cash from the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi (right). Bruni, who denies any wrongdoing, on Thursday attended the Paris offices of the Central Office for the Fight against Corruption and Financial and Tax Offenses. 'Her status is free suspect,' said a source close to the case. 'She has spoken to officers before, but not as a suspect in a case in which she's accused of trying to whitewash her husband.' Bruni is a close friend of Mimi Marchand - a French media fixer who has been placed under formal investigation for 'witness tampering' and 'criminal corruption'.

PETER HITCHENS: Lord Slippery of Tripoli proves almost daily that he is the man in this country who is most strongly unqualified to be Foreign Secretary. Last week he annoyed the Americans by telling them to shower money for munitions on to Ukraine. I think Baron Cameron has done this three times since he took on his new post, twice by flying at our expense to Washington DC and once by penning an article for a political website in the American capital. The main response has been nothing. But last week the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, squelched our former premier by refusing even to meet him. There were immediate sad cries of, 'What about the Special Relationship?', but as I keep telling you, there is no such thing. We matter to the Americans slightly more than Bulgaria, and much less than Ireland.

Although there isn't much to admire about the French beauty mogul, it's still an uphill battle for any billionaire to dethrone the 70-year-old whose fortune has risen to an estimated $99.5 billion. Bettencourt Meyers - the granddaughter of L'Oreal founder Eugene Schueller's - has inherited a large share of the French beauty behemoth, which she and her husband Jean-Pierre Meyers and their two children own. Jean-Pierre is the grandson of Rabbi Robert Meyers, who was assassinated in Auschwitz in 1943, and the couple's children, Jean-Victor and Nicolas Meyers, were raised Jewish. Their marriage ignited controversy during the Second World War as her L'Oreal founding grandfather was charged with 'economic and political involvement' with the Nazis during the Second World War, although a postwar tribunal later cleared him. According to the annual Forbes list, Bettencourt Meyers came out on top after L'Oreal's share price increased 20% this year as she increased her fortune by a massive $19 billion.

LORD BLUNKETT: The trade in human misery, which has tens of thousands of undocumented migrants being abused across the Channel every year, is a tragically avoidable tragedy. When people smuggling became a serious issue for border control, we had the solution practically in our pockets. And we could also make the product work. Identity cards are a simple, cost-effective, and inexpensive alternative, and they will destabilize the corporate model of multinational gangs profiting billions from human trafficking.

The 69-year-old's lawyers had requested that the Paris Appeal Court revoke his one-year prison term with six months suspended, but the judge upheld the decision on Wednesday. It came after a five-week trial at the city's Correctional Court three years ago, when Sarkozy was found guilty of fiddling the books during his failed 2012 attempt to become governor of the state. During the reading of the new 244-page verdict, Sarkozy, the President of France for five years before 2012, was present in court. According to a person close to the politician, he was 'determined to protect himself' so as not to go to prison. Rather than ending up in a cell, he is now expected to serve his term in an electronic tag at the Paris home he shares with his third wife, Carla Bruni, 56.

Quite why the man who rules the world's favourite tax haven (pictured right with his wife Princess Charlene) needed such a bolthole (left) a few streets from the fabulous 'Pink Palace' is gripping super-rich denizens fearful their own sources of wealth may be revealed

Prada and Yves Saint Laurent, as well as Lancome, are among the family businesses' brands. Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, the granddaughter of the L'Oreal founder and now the world's richest woman, has a more understated appearance. A pair of large, heavy-rimmed glasses and a vibrant scarf, often worn with a practical trouser suit, are among the 70-year-old's most popular items. She doesn't have a black eyeliner, and when not dealing with company affairs she writes books.

Carla Bruni, the 55-year-old former supermodel and French first lady, said she was diagnosed with the disease in a touching Instagram post on Wednesday. It was a time when she was under intense strain because her husband, former President of France Nicolas Sarkozy, 68, was convicted twice in a criminal court. In a video, Ms Bruni says, 'I was diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago.' I follow the conventional route of treating this type of cancer: surgery, radiotherapy, and hormonal therapy.' 'I was lucky,' but my cancer wasn't yet aggressive.' Why was this cancer not aggressive? It's because it didn't have time to become so popular.'

According to winemakers, French consumers are increasingly opting for lighter wines with lower alcohol content, and young people are especially popular. Rosé wine is now a year-round favorite around the world, just as red wine is losing favor. While worldwide demand for bottles of Bordeaux remains high, with red wine accounting for more than a quarter of all wine production, the exception being the 1990s. Thomas Montagne, a French winemaker who produces red, white, and rose wines, said, "We had the "French paradox" in the 1990s, where studies showed that red wine was good for your health. People, especially the young, are now drinking rose wines, which are quicker to drink, contain less tannins, and feel more festive.'

From Queen Victoria's ground-breaking visit in 1855 to today, the Royal Family has had a long love affair with France. However, no senior citizens will have such strong personal feelings about its capital city as King Charles, who is due to be back in August 19 for a second time. For him, Paris is the scene of dramatic and tragic events: the final sad denouement of the Abdication Crisis in a Bois de Boulogne mansion and the tragic death of Diana, mother to his two children, in August 1997.

When King Charles and Queen Camilla arrive in France next week for their State Visit, it will be an enriching display of these two neighbors' unique friendship, which includes so much history as both allies and competitors. Despite the fact that the republic was established after the Revolution, the country is also able to put on a spectacular display for grand occasions. However, the host country's atmosphere will be both dramatic and apprehensive. It would be impossible to escape the reality of the madness that grips France as social unrest looms, political depositions, racial inequities, and economic stagnation persists.

Carla Bruni, the Italian model, looked sensational as she strolled on the beach with her husband Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Venice. Carla, 55, showed her slim figure in a black swimming costume as the pair, who have been married since 2008, walked along the beach hand in hand. Sarkozy, 68, is seen in matching black swimming shorts as he laughed with Carla on Monday. The two actors are currently in Venice, Italy, for the 2023 Venice International Film Festival, which is much more low-key than previous years due to strikes in Hollywood.

Following the conclusion of the decade-long inquiry into the financing, Nicolas Sarkozy, 68, and 12 others will all be charged in 2025, according to Jean-Francois Bohnert, the national financial prosecutor. The lawsuit is the largest of many graft probes involving the right-wing politician. He has been arrested in two other instances, but he denies any wrongdoing in any situation. He is charged with unlawful campaign funding, embezzling, passive misconduct, and other related charges in the Libya case.

Nicolas Sarkozy, the disgraced former French president, has been dubbed a "mendacious clown" and "shameful" for assisting Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. In an interview with Moscow to promote his 560-page book Les Temps des Combats (The Time of Battles), the 68-year-old defended Moscow. He argued that Ukraine should not be able to join Nato or the EU in the interview and book, and referred to the region as "belligerent." A return of the Crimea to Ukraine,' he said, was "illusory." Mr Sarkozy writes in a superior copy of the book, which The Observer discovered, that we are fighting a war against Russia and not fighting it.' We are clearly not on the ground, but we are certainly not delivering arms to one of the belligerents'.