Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, has married his girlfriend Carla Bruni, a local mayor who performed the ceremony has said.

 

Francois Lebel said that Sarkozy, 53, and Bruni, 40, were married on Saturday in the presence of close family and friends at the Elysee Palace in Paris.

"I married two voters of the 8th district who live at 55 rue du Faubourg Saint Honore", Lebel said, giving the address of the presidential palace.

 

Under French law, couples must get married before a mayor to make their union official.

Lebel said it was the first time in the history of the French republic that a president had married while in office.

 

 

Sarkozy and Bruni, a singer and former model, reportedly met in November, soon after his divorce from his second wife Cecilia, in October.

 

The pair went public with their relationship during a visit to Disneyland Paris, and they remained in the spotlight during trips to Egypt and Jordan.

 

Sarkozy's openness about his private life has surprised many French who are accustomed to presidents who are private about their partners.

 

The president told a press conference last month that his relationship with Bruni was serious and all but confirmed that he planned to marry her.