Ryanair pays up with a smile
PARIS – Carla Bruni, the new bride of Nicolas Sarkozy, has won £45,000 damages from Ryanair.
A court in Paris ordered the no-frills airline to pay the money after it used a picture of the couple in an advert without their permission.
The French president was separately awarded one euro in damages, the amount he was seeking.
The advert – which ran in the newspaper Le Parisien last week – depicted Miss Bruni, a former model, saying: “With Ryanair all my family can attend the wedding.”
She had claimed £370,000, which she said would have been a normal fee for the use of her picture.
However, the court estimated her lost earnings at £45,000.
Ryanair said that in addition to the court’s award it would donate £45,000 to a charity of Mr Sarkozy’s choice.
Clearly, the budget airline was happy with the additional publicity the advert generated thanks to the court case.
Report from UK Telegraph Online and TravelMole
Ian Jarrett
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