London: French President Nicolas Sarkozy
is suspecting former Justice Minister Rachida Dati of being
the mastermind behind the rumours that he and his wife Carla
Bruni were having extra-marital affairs, a media report said.
Though a probe is still on to determine the source
of the rumours, Sarkozy suspects Dati and he has stripped the
44-year-old of her ministerial perks, including bodyguards and
a chauffeur-driven limosine, the 'Daily Mail' reported.
Dati was also kicked out of a five-star hotel
in Geneva and downgraded to a cheaper accommodation yesterday
during a government visit, on the orders of the 55-year-old
French President, the report said.
"Her disloyalty towards Sarkozy after all he has
done for her was the reason for this downgrading," an unknown
source was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, France's intelligence chief has admitted
that President Sarkozy ordered spies to uncover the source of
the rumours, despite Bruni publicly denying any probe into the
speculation that the couple's marriage was in crisis.
"My department was tasked to determine if the
rumours targeting the presidential couple were part of a plot
to destabilise them," Bernard Squarcini, the head of the spy
agency DCRI -- France's equivalent of Britain's MI5, said.
Last month, the international media was abuzz with
reports that Sarkozy was having an affair with French Ecology
Minister Chantal Jouanno, while 42-year-old Bruni was involved
in a relationship with singer Benjamin Biolay.
Both Sarkozy and Bruni, who got married in February
2008, have dismissed the rumours.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, April 09, 2010, 17:26