PARIS — A French judge ruled Tuesday that budget airline Ryanair improperly used a picture of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his new wife, former supermodel Carla Bruni, in an advertisement, and ordered the carrier to pay the newlyweds about $88,200 in damages.
The case came last week when Sarkozy and Bruni, then unmarried, sued the airline for placing an advertisement in a French newspaper featuring their picture with a thought bubble above Bruni’s head stating: “With Ryanair, all my family can come to my wedding.”
The pair, who married Saturday, said commercial use of the photograph was unauthorized and inappropriate.
Sarkozy, 53, sought and received a symbolic one euro — about $1.47 — in damages. Bruni, 40, had asked for $735,000 in damages — the amount she claimed to receive for appearing in ads — and was awarded $88,200. The airline also offered to make an additional $88,200 donation to a charity of Sarkozy’s choice.
