French first lady wins nude-photo lawsuit

PARIS, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A nude photo of former model Carla Bruni, wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, will no longer be featured on a company's shopping bags, a court says.

A court on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion ruled that the clothing group, Pardon, violated the French first lady's personal image ownership rights by using a nude photo of her, The (Britain) Daily Telegraph said Thursday.

The court's ruling on the island where Pardon is based ended a lawsuit filed by Bruni-Sarkozy aimed at stopping the unauthorized use of her image.

The court ordered Pardon to pay Sarkozy's wife, who had the picture taken during her modeling days, $181,000 in compensation.

In addition, the company was ordered to cease using the 1993 photo, which was paired with the slogan "My guy should have bought Pardon."

The Telegraph said while Pardon plans on appealing the court's ruling in the matter, the company announced it would destroy the remaining 5,500 bags featuring the photo.