French court to rule on Sarkozy suit against Ryanair
PARIS (AFP) — Lawyers for President Nicolas Sarkozy and his girlfriend Carla Bruni asked a Paris court on Thursday to order budget airline Ryanair to pay damages for featuring a photo of the couple in an ad campaign.
Sarkozy is seeking a symbolic sum of one euro in damages while Bruni is demanding 500,000 euros (740,500 dollars) from Ryanair for violation of their right to privacy.
Lawyer Thierry Herzog described Ryanair as a "serial offender", having used politicians in ads before, and argued that the campaign had harmed Bruni's image as a "model, composer and singer of talent."
Bruni "has the right to choose her advertisers," said Herzog, adding that she was under contract with Italian carmaker Lancia.
The advertisement ran in the popular Le Parisien daily this week, featuring a photograph of the couple smiling dreamily while a caption next to Bruni reads "With Ryanair, my whole family can come to my wedding."
Sarkozy, 53, told a news conference this month that his relationship with the 40-year old former model was "serious" and suggested they planned to marry.
The Paris high court is to render its decision on Tuesday.
Ryanair lawyer Francis Teitgen drew attention to the light-humoured nature of the ad, saying the airliner was not suggesting that "the Bruni family is going to travel with Ryanair. No one can take this ad literally."
While presenting Ryanair's "deep" apologies to the couple, the lawyer said Sarkozy's request for damages of one euro was justified but that Bruni was out of line.
She "wants 500,000 times more than the president!" said Teitgen. "It's the woman Carla Bruni with the man she loves" who is featured in the ad and not the model, he argued.
Last month, Ryanair reached an out-of-court settlement with Sweden's former prime minister Goeran Persson for using his picture in an ad campaign without his consent.
That ad showed Persson and ex-foreign minister Laila Frievalds under the caption "Time to flee the country?" after the government was shaken by a crisis of confidence.
Britain's advertising watchdog this week rapped the Irish low-cost airline for a flights promotion that showed a young woman dressed like a schoolgirl.
The Advertising Standads Authority (ASA) received 13 complaints from readers who found it offensive.
