French president, wife win lawsuit against ariline

PARIS -- President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni, won a lawsuit against Irish low-cost airline Ryanair, which was ordered to pay nearly $89,000 for an advertisement featuring a photo of the couple.

Sarkozy and Bruni filed separate lawsuits that were heard together in a court session in Paris, seeking damages for the carrier's use of the image for commercial purposes without permission.

Bruni, a former model turned singer, was awarded nearly $89,000. She had sought more than $741,000. Sarkozy asked for a symbolic one euro -- worth $1.47 -- which the court granted.

Thierry Herzog, a lawyer for the couple, said Bruni had decided to donate the court award to Restos du Coeur -- a network of charity soup kitchens well-known in France. Herzog called the ruling "satisfactory."

The advertisement, which appeared in Le Parisien newspaper on Jan. 28, shows Sarkozy and Bruni gazing skyward, with a think bubble over Bruni's head reading, "With Ryanair, my whole family will be able to attend my wedding."

Ryanair said late last month that it had sent a written apology to the president with a promise not to publish the ad again and an offer to donate the equivalent of $7,400 to his favorite charity. It made a similar offer to Bruni -- plus a symbolic euro -- but rejected her claim for more than $741,000 as "totally unjustified."

Sarkozy and Bruni were married on Saturday.