France’s Sarkozy, wife announce divorce

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'The couple was quite extraordinary'
News reports Wednesday that they had seen a judge about seeking a formal separation prompted debate among experts over whether the constitution allows them to divorce because of the strong legal protections designed to keep sitting presidents out of court.

Both Sarkozys have been previously married. They have two children each from their previous marriages, as well as their own son, Louis.

Until the Sarkozys, French presidents’ private lives remained largely private. But Sarkozy courted the spotlight for years in his long run-up to the presidency — and that has meant his marital troubles were front-page news.

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“The couple was quite extraordinary, really fused together,” said Christine Clerc, political journalist and author of “Tigers and Tigresses,” a book about presidential couples in modern France.

“They became an ordinary couple, a couple like many others who don’t get on well anymore after 14 years, but who have a child in common, who had many projects in common, who have a deep bond, and who have lived many things together,” she said.

Timing may help Sarkozy politically
The timing of the announcement could help Sarkozy on another front, by knocking the nationwide strikes off front pages.

The daily Liberation devoted five pages and its front page to Sarkozy’s marriage on Thursday, relegating the strikes to inside pages — even though the newspaper traditionally leans left and might have been expected to devote more attention to the labor unrest had the presidential couple not overshadowed it.

Protesters at a union-led march in Paris on Thursday had little sympathy for Sarkozy’s personal woes.

“There are problems more serious than that,” said Yvelle Franck, a 63-year-old marching to protect retirement benefits.