In a move unprecedented for the wife of a serving French president, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy on Wednesday went on prime-time radio to deny rumors about her marriage as scandal swept the country's political establishment as to how the speculation came to be in the first place.The glamorous former supermodel and singer assured interviewers on the Europe 1 radio station that she and her husband were close and that they bore no grudge towards those who were responsible for the speculation that both were having extramarital affairs. Largely unreported by mainstream media in France, rumors that both members of the Sarkozy household were having affairs swept the internet and were prominently reported by several international news outlets. Rumours exist, they will always exist, Bruni-Sarkozy said in a pre-recorded interview on Europe 1 radio, which made the signal available to other broadcasters. Bruni-Sarkozy's comments came after prosecutors launched a probe into the source of the rumours and amid open media speculation that former Justice Minister Rachida Dati, a former protge of the president was the source.This latest scandal comes at a difficult time for Nicolas Sarkozy, whose centre-right party lost heavily at regional elections last month and whose personal ratings crossed below 30 percent for the first time since his election in 2007.
