French billionaire Vincent Bollore provided the plane that flew Sarkozy, Bruni and nine others from Paris to the pharaonic splendour of Luxor.

The recently divorced Sarkozy was to relax at Luxor for a few days ahead of an official visit on December 30.

Paparazzi in tow

The group boarded in a private hangar in Paris to avoid prying lenses, while paparazzi awaited the couple in Luxor to compete for the first shots of the pair, perhaps during a felucca boat ride on the Nile at sunset.

Egyptian security forces were deployed discreetly around the town.

A French journalist and cameraman were briefly detained overnight by police for filming the hotel.

Sarko, as he is known by both supporters and opponents, will be staying in a US $1,100-a-night suite in the Victorian elegance of Luxor’s Old Winter Palace hotel on the east bank of the Nile, an Egyptian source said.

Council workers were seen on Monday giving a fresh lick of paint to the riverside opposite the hotel, with the town thronged by foreign tourists spending Christmas in the balmy winter air of southern Egypt.

Sarkozy and his second wife Cecilia announced their divorce in October after 11 years of marriage.

Since then, Sarkozy has been publicly seen with Bruni but has remained tight- lipped about his relationship with the model-turned-singer.

The French President  is expected also to be accompanied by one of his sons and his mother.