PARIS – Carla Bruni, the new bride of Nicolas Sarkozy, has won £45,000 damages from Ryanair.
A court in Paris ordered the no-frills airline to pay the money after it used a picture of the couple in an advert without their permission.
The French president was separately awarded one euro in damages, the amount he was seeking.
The advert – which ran in the newspaper Le Parisien last week – depicted Miss Bruni, a former model, saying: “With Ryanair all my family can attend the wedding.”
She had claimed £370,000, which she said would have been a normal fee for the use of her picture.
However, the court estimated her lost earnings at £45,000.
Ryanair said that in addition to the court’s award it would donate £45,000 to a charity of Mr Sarkozy’s choice.
Clearly, the budget airline was happy with the additional publicity the advert generated thanks to the court case.
Report from UK Telegraph Online and TravelMole
