French President Nicolas Sarkozy was jetting out last night to Morocco to spend New Year’s with wife Carla Bruni and King
Mohammed VI at the new royal palace in Marrakech. The king and his wife, Princess Lalla Salma, are hosting friends and family, including the Sarkozys and the king’s brother Prince Moulay Rachid. A source told us: “The Royal Standard of the King, the red flag with the green star in the center, is flying all over Marrakech, a sign the king and his family are in the new palace. Lots of people have arrived for New Year’s Eve. The king built the new palace soon after he was crowned in 1999. Carla Bruni and her baby daughter have been staying, and Sarkozy was expected to arrive from Paris last night.” Sarkozy and Mohammed VI are close trade partners and have been working together on building a high-speed rail line linking Tangiers with Casablanca. Another guest of the king is French actress Etchika Choureau Rheims, a close friend of the royal family who reportedly was once about to marry then-Crown Prince Hassan II — but their romance ended when he was proclaimed king of Morocco in 1961. A source told us, “Even though they didn’t marry . . . she is well loved, and she is treated like royalty all over Morocco.”