Media Spotlight on Sarkozy's Wife As Separation Rumours Fly

There was renewed speculation in France yesterday over the relationship between President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife, Cécilia. But the Elysée palace refused to comment on rumors that the president and his wife might announce their separation.

The president's spokesman, David Martinon, told a press briefing: "I don't comment on newsroom rumors, and certainly not that one." Asked whether Ms Sarkozy would go with her husband to Moscow next week, he said: "I don't know."

In a country where politicians' private lives were once off limits, media speculation about Ms Sarkozy's role abounded this week after she declined to accompany her husband to Bulgaria. She was to accept the country's highest medal of honor after she negotiated with Muammar Gadafy to secure the release of Bulgarian nurses imprisoned in Libya.

"Where has Cécilia gone?" asked Le Parisien of the first lady, who has appeared beside her husband only fitfully since his election victory in May. Her spokeswoman, Carina Alfonso Martin, said the Sarkozys had decided together that she would stay at home because her diplomatic foray in Libya had prompted so much controversy in France. She added: "It is not always easy. Either way, if she does something or if she doesn't do something, she is criticized."

Speculation continued when Ms Sarkozy pulled out of a television show for broadcast tomorrow. She had recorded an interview for a profile of her friend Rachida Dati, the justice minister. The Elysée said the couple now wanted to substitute her interview with an appearance by the president himself.

In August, Ms Sarkozy snubbed a rare private invitation to a picnic at George Bush's ranch, saying she had a sore throat, but was pictured shopping the next day. Yesterday, Ms Sarkozy's friend Isabelle Balkany told French radio the president's wife felt harassed by the media. She earlier said of the Sarkozys: "They row like any husband and wife, no more than that."

The couple separated briefly in 2005, when Ms Sarkozy was photographed in New York with another man. But Mr Sarkozy, then interior minister, went to the US to bring her back.