French President's Ex Gets Hitched In NYC
The ex-wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy was tying the knot Sunday at the famed Rainbow Room in New York's Rockefeller Center, a French newspaper Web site reported.
While details about the nuptials have been kept under wraps, Cecilia Ciganer-Albeniz - the former Mrs. Sarkozy - was to marry Richard Attias, a wealthy events planner, daily Le Figaro's Internet site said, citing a copy of the wedding program. The Le Figaro report did not indicate the source of the program.
Ciganer-Albeniz's lawyer, Michele Cahen, did not return calls over the weekend seeking comment on the wedding plans.
Photographers snapped photos of Ciganer-Albeniz and Attias as they emerged together Saturday evening from a car to see the ABBA-inspired musical "Mamma Mia!" at a Broadway theater.
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The couple had booked the Rainbow Room for a Sunday evening wedding and reception, lefigaro.fr said. The 65th floor room has a revolving dance floor and offers a panoramic view of New York.
The wedding ceremony was scheduled to draw 150 guests, culminating three days of private festivities that began with a party on Friday at Attias' house in Connecticut, the report said.
A French expatriate Web site, French Morning, reportedly separately that the three-day celebration would wrap up Sunday at Rockefeller Center without providing further details.
It would be the third marriage for the 50-year-old Ciganer-Albeniz. Her first husband was French television presenter Jacques Martin. Attias, a 48-year-old Jewish Moroccan-born multi-millionaire, is the president of Paris-based Publicis Events Worldwide with offices spanning the globe.
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Ciganer-Albeniz left Sarkozy in May 2005 to live with Attias, but returned to Sarkozy's side in the run-up to France's presidential elections last spring. Their divorce was announced in October, ending an 11-year marriage.
Last month, the French leader married Carla Bruni, the Italian-born singer and former model. Their quick courtship led to a glitzy February wedding in which they borrowed a private jet from a billionaire friend for a vacation. They reportedly lavished each other with expensive presents - a Patek Philippe watch for him, a Dior ring for her.
Sarkozy is due to begin an official visit to Britain on Wednesday that will include a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II.
Ciganer-Albeniz had tried to keep her wedding plans secret but word leaked out earlier this month when Versace announced that the couple had chosen the Milan fashion house to dress them for their nuptials. It was not clear whether the couple was sticking with Versace after the leak.
Then the luxury Paris department store Au Bon Marche revealed on its Web site the couple's wedding gift list that included such items as Ralph Lauren pillow cases for $72.50 or a Wedgwood sugar bowl for $157.