31.01.08

Ryanair, France’s largest low fares airline today (Thursday, 31 January 2008) responded to a legal action launched by President Sarkozy and Ms Carla Bruni, relating to a humorous advert, which ran in the Le Parisien newspaper last week.

 

Ryanair has previously written to President Sarkozy’s office apologising for any offence caused, and undertaking that it would not publish the advert (or anything similar to it) again. Ryanair has also offered - as a token of its regret – to make a donation of €5,000 to any charity of President Sarkozy’s choice. 

 

Last evening however, Ryanair received legal papers from President Sarkozy and Ms Bruni under which President Sarkozy was seeking damages of €1, but Ms Bruni was seeking damages of €500,000. Ryanair’s lawyers will today tell the French Courts that they are happy to settle President Sarkozy’s claim for €1 and Ryanair will renew its offer to make a charitable contribution of €5,000 to any charity of President Sarkozy’s choice. Ryanair has the utmost respect for President Sarkozy and the high office which he holds.

 

Ryanair’s lawyers will also make a similar offer to Ms Bruni, offering damages of €1 and a contribution of €5,000 to any charity of Ms Bruni’s choice. Ryanair will not however agree to any totally unjustified payment of €500,000 to Ms Bruni, who has engaged in an open, widely publicised and internationally reported relationship with President Sarkozy. The advert used by Ryanair was taken from one of the French newspapers and Ryanair notes that Ms Bruni did not make any objection to any of the remaining thousands of photographs of her which have appeared in over 55,000 newspapers and magazines in recent weeks.