Paris, 5 February 2008: French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his new bride Carla Bruni have won a case against Ryanair for using their picture without consent  in one of their adverts.

The couple sued over an advert which showed Ms Bruni saying: "With Ryanair, all my family can attend my wedding." 

The court in Paris awarded Ms Bruni only 60,000 euros - a fraction of the 500,000 euros she  would have earned for appearing in an advertisement in her former modelling career .

Mr Sarkozy was awarded a single euro he had claimed for himself in damages as a symbolic gesture.

The advert appeared in France before the couple's wedding on Saturday.

Ryanair had apologised before the case came to court for using the couple's image without their consent, insisting it meant no offence.

"It was a humorous comment on a matter of great public interest," a Ryanair spokeswoman in Dublin said.

The court also ordered the airline to publish its verdict in the newspaper which had carried the original advertisement.