Sarko and Bruni’s secret wedding

So, Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni, who met at a dinner party on November 14, have married. And by tying the knot a week ahead of the date his aides had carefully leaked to journalists, the French President managed to keep it a secret from the French press, just as he had predicted. Only a handful of friends and family attended the simple ceremony on Saturday at the Elysee Palace where the local mayor, Francois Lebel, did the honours.

Sarkozy has now broken two records since he became President last May: he is the first ever to divorce while in office (from Cecilia) and he's the first since Napoleon III in 1853 to marry while in office.

Sarko would be wise not to use Napoleon III as a role model. His wife Eugenie is supposed to have found sex "disgusting" and Napoleon quickly took on a series a mistresses including his own cousin, a prison laundress and more than one actress.

In the short term, Paris is waiting to see what effect the marriage will have on the outcome of a lawsuit brought by Sarko and Bruni against Ryanair. Without seeking permission, the budget airline created a newspaper out of a photograph of the smiling couple with a thought bubble above Bruni's head which read: "With Ryanair, all my family can come to my wedding." Bruni demanded €500,000 in damages - the amount she said she typically receives for appearing in an ad.

But the couple's lawyer, Thierry Herzog, argued in court on Thursday that Bruni "never indicated that she wanted to get married, nor when she would get married", little knowing that within 48 hours his clients would in effect ruin his case. The court judgment is expected later this week.