WORLD NEWS:FRENCH PRESIDENT Nicolas Sarkozy was taken to hospital yesterday after becoming unwell while exercising at his weekend retreat near Versailles.
Mr Sarkozy (54) felt faint “during sport” and was seen immediately by his doctor, said the Elysée Palace in a statement.
French news channels reported that Mr Sarkozy had been taken by helicopter to Val-de-Grâce military hospital in Paris for tests.
Security barriers have been installed around the hospital entrance.
Claude Guéant, Mr Sarkozy’s chief of staff, said the president was “doing well” and talking with medical staff.
Reports indicated that Mr Sarkozy had been jogging with security guards in the grounds of La Lanterne, near the Palace of Versailles, when he became unwell.
Carla Bruni, the president’s wife, was said to have arrived at the scene by motorcycle and accompanied her husband to Val-de-Grâce.
A government aide said the president had suffered a minor vasovagal episode. These are a common cause of fainting and can be brought on by factors including high temperatures, stress and exercise.
The president is a keen cyclist and jogger, who usually runs several times a week.
Temperatures in the Paris area were about 26 degrees.
At the beginning of July, the Elysée issued a press release stating that Mr Sarkozy had undergone regular cardiovascular and blood tests, which were normal.
The president promised to publish regular health bulletins as part of his presidential campaign in 2007, after it was claimed that previous presidents had concealed health problems from the public.
Former president François Mitterrand was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1981 but kept his illness from the public for more than 10 years.
Mr Sarkozy was admitted to Val-de-Grâce briefly in October 2007 for minor throat surgery but this was not made public until January the following year.
French news agencies reported that François Fillon, the prime minister, had cut short his weekend in the Pays de la Loire region to return to Paris upon learning of Mr Sarkozy’s illness.
The prime minister’s office confirmed that he had returned to his Matignon office but said this was because he had “work to do”, noting that Mr Fillon had been due to return to Paris anyway. – (The Financial Times Limited 2009)