French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife of 11 years, Cecilia, have divorced “by mutual consent”, according to a statement from the Elysee Palace.
The couple’s public appearances together have grown rarer
The presidency’s statement clarified an earlier announcement that they were to separate.
“What is intended by the word separation is divorce,” it said.
The couple’s lawyer said they had seen a judge to formalise the split and “there was no problem, they resolved everything amicably”.
Speculation that they were to split had been mounting for months, with the media remarking on Cecilia Sarkozy’s absence from her husband’s side.
Cecilia Sarkozy has had a successful career as a model and parliamentary aide and has said that she never wanted to be a traditional first lady.
Both were already divorcees when they married each other in 1996, with two children each from their previous marriages.
 |
Profile: Cecilia Sarkozy |
They have a 10-year-old son together, Louis.
Cecilia Sarkozy was once one of her husband’s closest political advisers.
They have had a turbulent relationship and were separated for several months in 2005, when Cecilia went to live in New York with an advertising executive.
Though reconciled afterwards, the couple did not appear in public as often as was expected as Mr Sarkozy’s presidential campaign gathered steam.
She did not vote in the second round of the presidential election and did not accompany him on a recent trip to Bulgaria – despite the fact that in July she had unexpectedly negotiated the release of Bulgarian medics imprisoned in Libya.
This summer she failed to accompany her husband to a picnic lunch hosted by US President George W Bush and last weekend she was again absent from her husband’s side at France’s Rugby World Cup match against England.
“I don’t see myself as a first lady. It bores me. I’m not politically correct,” she said two years ago.
The divorce announcement came on a testing day for Mr Sarkozy, 52, as France was paralysed by a one-day public transport strike.
His rival in the presidential election, Socialist leader Segolene Royal, has also separated from her partner Francois Hollande, the father of her four children. Their break-up came soon after her election defeat in May.
Mahesh ko blog 
There is a saying in Nepal about People of west like this, if lady doesn’t like her husband’s sneezing she will write a letter of divorce . but I used to believe that it is just apply on the low class people and underdog but as a reader of this news I must say that my whole perception towards European and western people were wrong.
By: mamahesh on अक्टोबर 18, 2007
at 06:10:57
yes bhai, u learned that much and found the difference how we eastern people think about the western life , better u to know how a neplese student lives here in developed countries like U S and AUS ,so it would be ease for u to planned the next step……….
By: binod on अक्टोबर 22, 2007
at 02:10:00