AGRA, India (AFP) - Indias monument to love, the Taj Mahal, was sealed off to tourists Saturday for a visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy -- minus his supermodel-turned-popstar girlfriend Carla Bruni.
Ticket sales to Indian and foreign tourists were stopped shortly after noon and those already inside the white marble mausoleum were shooed out as police and officials threw a tight security cordon round the monument, an AFP reporter said.
Sarkozys plan to visit the Taj Mahal has prompted intense speculation on whether or not he will be joined by Bruni, who has not been with him for the official events in new Delhi on Friday and early Saturday.
French officials confirmed she would not be joining him for the visit to the white-marbled 17th-century monument in Agra just south of New Delhi.
The 40-year-old Bruni herself told the Liberation paper earlier this week that she would not be accompanying the president as they were not yet married.
Foreign ministry sources in conservative India had raised eyebrows over the prospect of Bruni attending as first lady due to protocol issues.
In October, Sarkozy became the first French president to divorce while in office when he ended his stormy 11-year marriage to his second wife Cecilia.
The jet-setting romance with Bruni has raised eyebrows in France, with many worried their president is neglecting his election pledges to slash unemployment and boost growth.
Opinion polls suggest the media soap opera surrounding the couple, pursued by paparazzi from Paris to Egypt and Jordan since mid-December, has alienated many of his supporters.
The Taj Mahal was built by Emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his beloved queen, Mumtaz Mahal, who died while giving birth to their 14th child. About 20,000 workers toiled for more than 20 years to build the tomb.
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