PARIS, Feb 2: French President Nicolas Sarkozy put an end to the rumours on Saturday and did the deed, marrying Italian supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni in an intimate, private ceremony at the Elysee Palace.

News that the 53-year-old president had tied the knot with Ms Bruni, 40, was announced on radio by the mayor of the eighth district of Paris, Francois Lebel, who officiated at the wedding.

The marriage was later confirmed by the president’s office in a brief statement saying Mr Sarkozy and Ms Bruni “announce that they were married this morning in the presence of their families in the strictest privacy.”

Mr Lebel was more effusive about the short service attended by about 20 people, revealing that the bride wore white and “was ravishing, as usual,” he gushed on Europe 1 radio.

The newlyweds were “emotional and amorous ... There was an exchange of vows and the traditional kiss. Nothing exceptional,” he added.

This is Mr Sarkozy’s third marriage and comes after he and his wife of 11 years divorced in October last. —AFP