Probe into blog on Sarkozy's marriage
Source: Agencies |
April 7, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
FRENCH authorities are investigating how a story appeared in a blog alleging marital problems between President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy which the couple vehemently denied.
The Paris state prosecutor launched an inquiry after a media group owned by a close friend of Sarkozy filed a formal complaint against one of its own publications for running the story in a blog.
"The company declares in its filing that the publication harmed the image of the company and its credibility," a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office said.
The move to open such an inquiry underlines the sensitivity of the case in France, where the press is generally discreet about issues concerning the private lives of the country's politicians and other public figures.
Sarkozy last month dismissed speculation about his marriage as "ridiculous rubbish" and two of his advisers said the stories may have been deliberately spread to damage the president's standing.
"I can't exclude a conspiracy where certain people would like to try and destabilize the president of the republic and his wife, be it for personal reasons, be it for financial reasons, which would be even more immoral," Sarkozy's lawyer, Thierry Herzog, said.
The president's communications adviser, Pierre Charon, said last week a judicial inquiry should track down the source of the rumors that led to the story about the president and his model-turned-singer wife which swept the Internet.
"We want to go all the way to make sure this never happens again. As they say, the fear has to change sides," Charon said.
Hachette Filipacchi, a branch of the Lagardere group controlled by Arnaud Lagardere, a personal friend of Sarkozy, filed a formal complaint against the weekly Journal du Dimanche, which carried a blog report on the story.
Journalists at the Journal du Dimanche said two employees linked to the story, including its presumed author, had quit their posts, while the newspaper's head had written a letter of apology for publishing the story. The blog was removed.
But the journalists said in a statement on Monday that Charon's comments were threatening and unacceptable. "What more should we do?" they said, adding they were "stunned" by the proportions this affair was taking on.
Sarkozy said last month he did not have half a second to lose on speculation about his marriage, as journalists pressed him for comment during a news conference in London.
Sarkozy and Bruni married in 2008 after a whirlwind romance, and the media has been obsessed with their relationship ever since. In a television interview last month, Bruni-Sarkozy described her love story with the president as a "real fairy tale" and said he would never have extramarital affairs.
(Reuters)
The Paris state prosecutor launched an inquiry after a media group owned by a close friend of Sarkozy filed a formal complaint against one of its own publications for running the story in a blog.
"The company declares in its filing that the publication harmed the image of the company and its credibility," a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office said.
The move to open such an inquiry underlines the sensitivity of the case in France, where the press is generally discreet about issues concerning the private lives of the country's politicians and other public figures.
Sarkozy last month dismissed speculation about his marriage as "ridiculous rubbish" and two of his advisers said the stories may have been deliberately spread to damage the president's standing.
"I can't exclude a conspiracy where certain people would like to try and destabilize the president of the republic and his wife, be it for personal reasons, be it for financial reasons, which would be even more immoral," Sarkozy's lawyer, Thierry Herzog, said.
The president's communications adviser, Pierre Charon, said last week a judicial inquiry should track down the source of the rumors that led to the story about the president and his model-turned-singer wife which swept the Internet.
"We want to go all the way to make sure this never happens again. As they say, the fear has to change sides," Charon said.
Hachette Filipacchi, a branch of the Lagardere group controlled by Arnaud Lagardere, a personal friend of Sarkozy, filed a formal complaint against the weekly Journal du Dimanche, which carried a blog report on the story.
Journalists at the Journal du Dimanche said two employees linked to the story, including its presumed author, had quit their posts, while the newspaper's head had written a letter of apology for publishing the story. The blog was removed.
But the journalists said in a statement on Monday that Charon's comments were threatening and unacceptable. "What more should we do?" they said, adding they were "stunned" by the proportions this affair was taking on.
Sarkozy said last month he did not have half a second to lose on speculation about his marriage, as journalists pressed him for comment during a news conference in London.
Sarkozy and Bruni married in 2008 after a whirlwind romance, and the media has been obsessed with their relationship ever since. In a television interview last month, Bruni-Sarkozy described her love story with the president as a "real fairy tale" and said he would never have extramarital affairs.
(Reuters)
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
