The story of Nicolas Sarkozy and Cécilia Ciganer is worthy of a screenplay for a Netflix series. It all started on August 10, 1984. Nicolas Sarkozy has been mayor of Neuilly for a year. That day, he presided over the wedding ceremony of his friend Jacques Martin. At 52, the host of the program l’Ecole des Fans is already a huge television star. And for his third marriage, he marries a young woman 27 years his junior. This “lovely brown creeper with the eyes of an Egyptian cat”, as described by Catherine Nay in the “Inseparable” podcast, is none other than Cécilia Ciganer-Albéniz.
When Nicolas Sarkozy lays eyes on her, “he is set on fire by an inner fire,” confides journalist Catherine Nay, who has rubbed shoulders with politicians throughout her career. At this precise moment, the future President of the Republic has in mind Achille Peretti, the former mayor of Neuilly who brought him into the municipal council, and who said to him: “When I do weddings, it bothers me . But I always wonder if I would like to be in the place of the groom in the evening…”
For once, Nicolas Sarkozy has no doubts. If Cecilia does not give him a look, he, on the contrary, is subjugated. To Jacques Martin, he confesses: “I would like to give you a gift that I cannot give you: it is my mayor’s scarf. I would like to give it to you and I cannot.” Catherine Nay translates the subliminal message: “I would like to be married to your wife”.
But at the time, Nicolas Sarkozy was already in a relationship. He has just had a little boy with his wife, Marie-Dominique Culioli. Moreover, after this meeting, the two couples get closer. Cécilia and Marie get along wonderfully. They meet in the alleys that border the Bois de Neuilly to walk the children, says Catherine Nay again. But for how much longer? Marie does not know that Nicolas Sarkozy is sending flowers to this woman whom she considers her best friend…
>> Test your knowledge of the great political duos of the Fifth Republic with this quiz on the Nicolas Sarkozy-Cécilia and Balladur-Chirac episodes
Discover the rest of the story of Nicolas Sarkozy and Cécilia in “Inséparables”, Catherine Nay’s podcast produced by Europe 1 Studio, to be found for free on all listening platforms.
Nicolas Sarkozy and Cécilia is the story of an indissoluble couple. A romance worthy of an American series, from love at first sight to a terrible breakup, against a backdrop of the conquest of power. In this “Inseparable” podcast produced by Europe 1 Studio, journalist Catherine Nay, great voice of Europe 1, tells the stories of couples or political duos of the Fifth Republic. The second part of this episode devoted to the Nicolas Sarkozy-Cécilia couple resumes in 2004, at the meeting where Cécilia meets Richard Attias, who will change her life, and ends in 2007, with the official announcement of the couple’s divorce. Nicolas Sarkozy-Cecilia.
Find “Inseparable, Catherine Nay tells the story of couples at the Elysée” on: http://www.europe1.fr/emissions/inseparables
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