French President, Wife Divorce

PARIS — French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife, Cecilia, have divorced after 11 years of marriage and months of questions about their relationship, their lawyer said Thursday.

Although previous leaders in France have had extramarital affairs, the Sarkozys are the first French presidential couple to divorce while in power.

"They were heard by a judge and the judge granted their divorce," lawyer Michele Cahen said on Europe-1 radio. "It went very well. There was not the slightest difficulty."

In a 15-word statement, Sarkozy's office said the two were separating by mutual consent and would not comment further on it. Sarkozy's spokesman said separation meant divorce.

Their split came as Sarkozy faced his first major political challenge: nationwide transportation strikes that caused bus, train and subway service to ground to a halt across France.

Sarkozy has not given any hint that his marital troubles will dent his determination to push ahead with his ambitious program of economic, political and social reforms for France. In the past week, as speculation about his marriage reached new heights, he continued to present an image of business as normal. He was to be in Portugal on Thursday for a European Union summit.