First Lady and the tramp: Parisian homeless man tells of his unlikely friendship with Carla Bruni-Sarkozy
on 22nd December 2009
A Parisian tramp has claimed that Carla Bruni hands him a €50 or €100 note every time she passes him in the street.
The homeless man, who gives his name only as Denis, said the French First Lady even stops off for a chat about music and has offered to put him up in a hotel.
Denis, 53, said: 'I refused. It's not that I enjoy being on the street but I've got my habits.
'What's more Carla gave me a military-type duvet, which keeps me warm.'
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy pose before a visit to a hospital in Creteil near Paris this afternoon
President Sarkozy's wife spends time with Denis when she is away from the Elysee Palace, staying in her old home in Paris's chic 16th arrondissement.
He was tracked down after Bruni mentioned him in an interview she gave to the French equivalent of the Big Issue, Macadam.
Denis told Closer magazine how Bruni even gave him a signed copy of her CD.
He said: 'My friends from the street tell that it is worth a lot of money because it has her signature.
'But I could not care less, I prefer to keep it.'
But Denis added: 'Having said that, I lent it to someone two months ago who hasn't given it back.'
Havign friends in high places has had some other benefits: gendarmes have stopped moving him on since Carla took an interest.
President Sarkozy and Carla share a joke with staff at the hospital
'Carla's help is concrete,' Denis said. 'Before knowing her, the cops bugged me regularly, now they leave me alone.'
The homeless friend of the First Lady continued: 'She's a great lady, you know, Carla, even if she doesn't appear so.'
Elsewhere, one of France's best known radio presenters has been axed for comparing Carla Bruni to a pig.
Europe 1 radio host Christophe Beauregard made the remark on his popular live chat-show Le Grand Direct ten days ago.
His show the following week was cancelled and he has not appeared on the radio station since, French news website Le Post said.
The slur comes less than a week after schoolchildren visiting the Elysee Palace later told journalists The French First Lady looked 'too tall and had false teeth'.
Europe 1 said yesterday it had decided not to reveal the precise wording of Beauregard's comments about Bruni - and they have not been repeated in the French media.
But a spokesman for the station later admitted that the remark had been 'out of keeping with the spirit of the station' and that he had voiced similar insults about other French personalities.
He told Le Post: 'Christophe Beauregard has not been retained for the next season of his show.
'As at the end of every year, we take stock of which programmes we want to continue with.
'Christophe had finished his series of shows and we have decided not to keep him on. But as he is a freelance, we can not say he has actually been fired.'
The spokesman added: 'The decision was taken in agreement with him. We had a problem with the style and rhythm of Le Grand Direct and his observations did not really fit in well.
'There have been several other times he has gone too far, and he himself recognises this.
'In one week, he made insulting remarks and Carla Bruni, Philippe Gildas, Jacques Pradel and et Genevieve de Fontenay. But this isn't the only reason he has left us.'
Beaurarged was later contacted on holiday and told Le Post his last show was not aired due to 'scheduling problems' and his committments to other TV and radio work.
He added: 'Besides, I don't particularly remember calling Carla Bruni a pig, and received no complaints after the show.'
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