France
President Sarkozy sets lawsuit precedentPosted Apr 2 2008
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has filed a criminal lawsuit against Le Nouvel Observateur magazine for an article published on its web site Feb. 6. The article was titled “The obsession with Cecilia” and claimed that Sarkozy texted his ex-wife Cecilia a week before marrying former model Carla Bruni, according to Reuters.
The text message reported in the nouvelobs.com article said, “If you return, I will cancel everything,” Sarkozy’s laqyer Thierry Herzog told French newspaper Le Parisien that the president never sent the message. Le Nouvel Observateur editorAiry Routier stands by the report.
This is the first criminal suit filed by a French president and the first lawsuit of a president against the media in 30 years, according to Reporters Without Borders.
The maximum sentence for the charge of forgery is three years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros.
Sarkozy and Bruni won a civil lawsuit against British airline Ryanair for an advertisement featuring their picture without their consent.