Glamorous Carla Bruni-Sarkozy accompanies her husband as the former French president attends the funeral of his political mentor

  • 47-year-old was pictured hand-in-hand with her husband Nicolas Sarkozy
  • The pair had been attending funeral of Charles Pasqua in southern France
  • Pasqua, a former French interior minister, died in hospital last week at 88

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has been pictured walking hand-in-hand with her husband, the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, after attending the funeral of his political mentor today.

The 47-year-old and her husband of seven years were paying their respects to former French interior minister Charles Pasqua at a service in Grasse, southeastern France.

Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy looked elegant in dark glasses and a knee-length black dress as she walked away from the Notre-Dame-du-Puy cathedral today.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is pictured walking hand-in-hand with her husband, the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, after attending the funeral of his political mentor today

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is pictured walking hand-in-hand with her husband, the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, after attending the funeral of his political mentor today

Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy looked elegant in dark glasses and a knee-length black dress as she walked away from the Notre-Dame-du-Puy cathedral
Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy looked elegant in dark glasses and a knee-length black dress as she walked away from the Notre-Dame-du-Puy cathedral

Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy looked elegant in dark glasses and a knee-length black dress as she walked away from the ceremony

The pair had been attending a funeral at the Notre-Dame-du-Puy cathedral in Grasse, southeastern France

The pair had been attending a funeral at the Notre-Dame-du-Puy cathedral in Grasse, southeastern France

Pasqua, a hardline politician who was a close ally of former president Jacques Chirac, died on Monday last week aged 88.

A veteran of the Gaullist movement, he spent more than half a century at the heart of French politics in a career punctuated by no-nonsense policies targeting terrorism but overshadowed by funding scandals.

He died in a hospital in the Paris suburbs.

Mr Sarkozy, to whom Pasqua was a mentor in his earlier years, paid homage to 'one of France's greatest servants.'

'It is with very great sadness and with huge emotion that I learned of the passing of Charles Pasqua,' Sarkozy said in a statement last week.

Pasqua first served as interior minister under Chirac's prime ministership from 1986 to 1988, and then again under Edouard Balladur from 1993 to 1995.

Pasqua, a hardline politician who was a close ally of former president Jacques Chirac, died on Monday last week aged 88

Pasqua, a hardline politician who was a close ally of former president Jacques Chirac, died on Monday last week aged 88

The 47-year-old and her husband of seven years were paying their respects to former French interior minister Charles Pasqua

The 47-year-old and her husband of seven years were paying their respects to former French interior minister Charles Pasqua

Sarkozy said in a statement last week that he felt 'very great sadness' and 'huge emotion' at the passing of his mentor

Sarkozy said in a statement last week that he felt 'very great sadness' and 'huge emotion' at the passing of his mentor

During his political career he earned a reputation as a no-nonsense operator, and orator.

Among his well-known quotes were 'you have to terrorise terrorists' and 'democracy stops where the state's interest starts.'

He also served in the European parliament and was in 2004 re-elected to the French Senate, where he served until 2011.

Pasqua faced judicial investigations in France for several affairs, and in 2009 a court confirmed a guilty verdict for the illegal funding of his 1999 EU parliament campaign.

A year later another court handed him a one-year suspended sentence in connection with the misappropriation of public funds to the benefit of Sofremi, a company overseen by the interior ministry.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy (right) and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (left) are pictured at the service today

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy (right) and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (left) are pictured at the service today

They had been remembering Charles Pasqua who spent more than half a century at the heart of French politics

They had been remembering Charles Pasqua who spent more than half a century at the heart of French politics

The couple were seen walking hand-in-hand after leaving the ceremony today

The couple were seen walking hand-in-hand after leaving the ceremony today

Pasqua, Sarkozy's mentor, first served as interior minister under Chirac's prime ministership from 1986 to 1988, and then again under Edouard Balladur from 1993 to 1995

Pasqua, Sarkozy's mentor, first served as interior minister under Chirac's prime ministership from 1986 to 1988, and then again under Edouard Balladur from 1993 to 1995

At the time of his death, Pasqua was also appealing a two-year suspended sentence and 150,000 euro fine for misappropriation of public funds in connection with a project to establish an art foundation.

He was cleared however in a case involving the alleged sale of contraband arms to Angola, and of UN corruption charges in connection with Iraq's oil-for-food programme.

Born on April 18, 1927 to a Corsican family settled in southern France, Pasqua joined the French resistance in 1943. Four years later, he became a member of General Charles de Gaulle's Rally for the French People (RPF).

In 1976, he helped Chirac set up the neo-Gaullist Rally for the Republic (RPR) and remained close to the future president for years, later becoming a mentor to Sarkozy, who served as president until 2012.

 

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