Cecilia Sarkozy Fails To Ban Book On Her Marriage

Paris, France (AHN) - Europe's "royal" watchers will have another political soap to monitor, the crumbled marriage of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and second wife Cecilia. Details of their life together, expected to contain a number of dirty linen, will be available to the public soon after the former First Lady failed to ban the publication of "Cecilia: A Portrait".

French publishing houses are in a rush to cash in on details of the Sarkozy marriage several months after the couple divorced and weeks after the president publicly admitted his ongoing relationship with Italian model and singer Carla Bruni. President Sarkozy and Bruni had hinted of marching down the aisle soon.

"Cecilia: A Portrait" is one of three books coming out on the Sarkozys. It was written by Anna Bitton with interviews from the ex-First Lady. Excepts of the book had already been released and it has quotes and juicy details that will embarrass the president. Cecilia described her former husband "flakey, tight-fisted and anti-social." She called his female friends "a bunch of slappers" and the women in his cabinet "boring wallflowers".

A Paris court rejected Cecilia's petition to stop the publication and sale of the book. The court rejected her petition because a ban "would be totally disproportionate, all the more so because the book is already on sale." The book, expected to be a bestseller and controversial, were on bookstore shelves Thursday. Cecilia's lawyer, Michelle Cahen, said her client would appeal the decision.

A second book on the Sarkozy ex-couple, written by Denis Demonpion and Laurent Leger, disclosed the president's secret surgical procedure on October, indicating Sarkozy broke his vow to French voters to be open about his health.

French media sought the president's comment on the two books, but he did not respond. However, the Mirror of U.K. quoted Sarkozy's spokesman Bruce Hortefeux,who said, "The woman is clearly unbalanced," referring to Cecilia. Author Bitton did not spare her interviewee. She referred to the former model and first lady as an "ice-cold blue-blooded empress" and a "poor little rich girl addicted to shopping".