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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Carla Bruni's free flights anger Air France union | Carla Bruni's free flights anger Air France union |
| (3 months later) | |
| During the last French presidential election campaign, Carla Bruni claimed she was so down to earth she wore a wig to travel on the Paris metro in disguise. | During the last French presidential election campaign, Carla Bruni claimed she was so down to earth she wore a wig to travel on the Paris metro in disguise. |
| But it seems that the millionaire folk-singer and wife of former president Nicolas Sarkozy still has a taste for luxury travel and state freebies. | But it seems that the millionaire folk-singer and wife of former president Nicolas Sarkozy still has a taste for luxury travel and state freebies. |
| A trade union at the national airline Air France has voiced outrage after Bruni enjoyed a free return flight from Paris to New York while promoting her new album in the US last month. Air France also paid the €500 (£428) airport taxes for her. | A trade union at the national airline Air France has voiced outrage after Bruni enjoyed a free return flight from Paris to New York while promoting her new album in the US last month. Air France also paid the €500 (£428) airport taxes for her. |
| The SUD union complained that free tickets for VIPs were scandalous at a time when the airline is telling staff its financial situation is "catastrophic". Air France has been undergoing major restructuring and is trying to cut its debt by €2bn by 2015 with significant job losses. | The SUD union complained that free tickets for VIPs were scandalous at a time when the airline is telling staff its financial situation is "catastrophic". Air France has been undergoing major restructuring and is trying to cut its debt by €2bn by 2015 with significant job losses. |
| Former French presidents and their families are traditionally allowed free flights on Air France, which is partly state-owned, as well as free rail travel. | Former French presidents and their families are traditionally allowed free flights on Air France, which is partly state-owned, as well as free rail travel. |
| The SUD criticised an opaque system of VIP freebies, not just among former presidential families but also among the executive class and their hangers-on. "We're no longer in a monarchy," a representative told Agence France Presse. | The SUD criticised an opaque system of VIP freebies, not just among former presidential families but also among the executive class and their hangers-on. "We're no longer in a monarchy," a representative told Agence France Presse. |
| Last year there was a scandal when a former Air France chief executive, his wife and two friends were due to fly to Mauritius on preferential tickets that cost almost nothing. They eventually cancelled their trip. | Last year there was a scandal when a former Air France chief executive, his wife and two friends were due to fly to Mauritius on preferential tickets that cost almost nothing. They eventually cancelled their trip. |
| Meanwhile on Thursday, France's constitutional council rejected Sarkozy's 2012 election expenses, saying he had omitted to mention more than €1.5m of spending in his accounts, which totalled around €22m. | Meanwhile on Thursday, France's constitutional council rejected Sarkozy's 2012 election expenses, saying he had omitted to mention more than €1.5m of spending in his accounts, which totalled around €22m. |
| The ruling means that Sarkozy's right-wing UMP will be deprived of the €11m that it would have been reimbursed. The party, whose finances are already tight, will lose out on what amounts to one third of its annual budget. | The ruling means that Sarkozy's right-wing UMP will be deprived of the €11m that it would have been reimbursed. The party, whose finances are already tight, will lose out on what amounts to one third of its annual budget. |
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