The airline's lawyer, Mr Francis Taitgen told a hearing in Paris the airline was happy to settle Mr Sarkozy's claim for a symbolic one euro damages but he rejected former supermodel Bruni's claim for damages of 500,000 euros.

Mr Sarkozy and Ms Bruni sued Ryanair over an advertisement for cut price tickets in the Le Parisien newspaper this week, featuring a photo of the smiling pair.

A judgment in the case is expected on Tuesday.

Mr Taitgen admitted the advertisement was 'facetious' but expressed surprise at the scale of the claim filed by Ms Bruni, one of the world's most successful and well-paid fashion models in the 1990s who has since carved a career as a singer.

'The president is asking for one euro. That is profoundly dignified,' Mr Taitgen said. 'Madame Bruni is asking for 500,000 times more than the president.'

Mr Sarkozy's spokesman David Martinon said the president was only demanding symbolic compensation but the position was different for Ms Bruni, who earned her living from her image.

'For the President of the Republic it is a question of principle. As for Carla Bruni, it's her profession, it's her image. She has suffered a financial loss,' he told a regular weekly news briefing.

Mr Sarkozy and his companion have formed one of the world's highest profile couples since their romance was revealed to the world during a trip to Disneyland Paris last month.

Mr Taitgen said Ryanair agreed to publish the judgment in three newspapers and to make a 5,000 euro donation to charity but he said Ms Bruni should accept that she was in a special position.

'She declares that she comes before you as a model and singer who earns a great deal of money. But this is not the photo of a singer! It is the photo of a woman with the man she loves!,' he told the court.

'When one has the immense good fortune to have glory and fame, one should accept the inconvenient aspects,' he said.

The advertisement shows a cartoon bubble above Ms Bruni, the scion of a rich Italian industrial dynasty, reading: 'With Ryanair, my whole family can come to my wedding.'

Mr Sarkozy, who divorced his second wife Cecilia shortly before he met Ms Bruni, told a recent news conference the relationship was 'serious' and he hinted they intended to marry. -- REUTERS