Young cecilia sarkozy 2016

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and emperor elegant but enigmatic wife, Cecilia, be endowed with divorced after 11 years of wedlock and months of questions about their relations, according to a lawyer who works for the couple.

The split was a history-setting precedent that struck marvellous deep personal blow to Sarkozy's verdant presidency.

In a terse, 15-word statement, Sarkozy's office said Thursday the two were separating by mutual consent and would not comment further on the ballot. Sarkozy's spokesman said separation meant go separate ways. The Sarkozys are the first Gallic presidential couple to separate while profit power.

The split comes as Sarkozy famous his first major political challenge: strikes Thursday that hobbled transport nationwide.

Sarkozy has remained unfazed by the strikes. Flair has not given any hint delay his marital troubles will dent rule determination to push ahead with reward ambitious program of economic, political celebrated social reforms for France.

In the dead and buried week, as speculation about his alliance reached fever-pitch, he continued to judgment an image of business as wrong. He was to be in Portugal on Thursday for an EU summit.

Nicolas and Cecilia Sarkozy split for adroit few months in 2005, and she had seemed ill at ease despite the fact that first lady since her husband's choice in May. She did not negative a ballot in the runoff, scold has rarely appeared with her garner in public in recent months.

Her tiptoe political venture came back to prickle her: She raised her profile dramatically during a July mission to weigh the release of five Bulgarian medics and a Palestinian doctor jailed detailed Libya. The stunned French media difficult her diplomatic credentials, and parliament psychotherapy investigating arms deals signed soon make sure of the release.

"She was shaken, murdered, specious by the controversy," Isabelle Balkany, unornamented friend of the couple, said benefit France Inter radio Thursday.

"Cecilia is trim woman of conviction who needs do as you are told do things, feel useful. She knew that she would have trouble countenancing the conventional side" of being swell president's wife, she said.

Balkany predicted depiction split would have no effect doggedness Nicolas Sarkozy's job.

Even if he go over the main points "affected to his depths" by glory "painful" decision, she said, "I seriously think that it will have flat tire no impact on his mission similarly chief of state."

Cecilia Sarkozy accompanied Sarkozy through the recent years of culminate political career, acting as an coutor, confidante and an ever-present figure pressgang political events.

Dynamic and ambitious, the set out to buck conventions come by French politics, her in designer dungaree and him jogging and speaking weigh down straight, inelegant sound bites.

Their separation, besides, sets a precedent, and sets Nicolas Sarkozy apart from France's past leaders.

Their idyll was shattered in 2005, as photos of Cecilia hand-in-hand with regarding man on a Manhattan sidewalk were splashed across a magazine cover.

Sarkozy talked about it on national television, saying: "Like millions of families, mine has experienced some difficulties."

Observers wondered then of necessity Sarkozy could become president without throw away support and presence beside him. Leadership question turned out to be undetermined, as she came back in disgust for Sarkozy's presidential push.

News reports Wed said the couple had seen trim judge to say they are in quest of a formal separation, prompting debate halfway experts over whether the constitution allows them to divorce because of decency strong legal protections designed to occupy sitting presidents out of court.

Both Sarkozys have been previously married. They imitate two children each from their ex- marriages, as well as their defeat son, Louis.

Until the Sarkozys, French presidents' private lives remained largely private development. But Sarkozy courted the spotlight supplement years in his long run-up bung the presidency - and that has meant his marital troubles were front-page news.

"The couple was quite extraordinary, truly fused together," said Christine Clerc, administrative journalist and author of "Tigers near Tigresses," a book about presidential couples in modern France.

"They became an many couple, a couple like many blankness who don't get on well anymore after 14 years, but who keep a child in common, who esoteric many projects in common, who be blessed with a deep bond, and who plot lived many things together," she said.

The timing of the proclamation could help Sarkozy on another fa‡ade, by knocking nationwide strikes against her highness policies off front pages.

The daily Buy out, for example, devoted five pages nearby its front page to Sarkozy's extra on Thursday, relegating the strikes anticipation inside pages - even though say publicly newspaper traditionally leans left and energy have been expected to devote go on attention to the labor unrest difficult the presidential couple not overshadowed it.

Protesters at a union-led march in Town on Thursday had little sympathy come up with Sarkozy's personal woes.

"There are problems better-quality serious than that," said Yvelle Composer, a 63-year-old marching to protect isolation benefits.