PARIS, Dec 1, 2009 (AFP) - The Elysee presidential palace for the first time displayed two large red ribbons on its columns Tuesday to mark World AIDS Day, supporting a cause dear to first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.
The three-metre long (10 foot) ribbons were hung on the portico of President Nicolas Sarkozy's office and residence as his wife promoted the global campaign against AIDS in several media interviews.
"Every year, there are new HIV infections in France and elsewhere in the world. We must remain mobilised to improve prevention of AIDS and care," said an Elysee statement.
"That is the meaning of the symbol," it added, of the red ribbons.
In another show of French solidarity with people living with HIV and AIDS, the lights were to be switched off for five minutes at the Eiffel Tower at 6:30 pm (1730 GMT).
The Empire State Building and the Brooklyn bridge in New York will also go dark at the same time as part of the "Light for Rights" campaign for more access to AIDS drugs.
Bruni-Sarkozy, who lost her brother Virginio to AIDS three years ago, last year became an ambassador for the Geneva-based Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
The singer and ex-supermodel has called for more action to eradicate mother-to-child HIV transmission by 2015.
"I am not a doctor, or a scholar, or a politician," she wrote in the daily Le Monde on Monday.
"I am just a woman troubled by the injustice of a world that has the knowledge and the medicine needed to prevent HIV transmission and death from AIDS."
091201
AF091202
Copyright ©AFP 2009. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP photos or materials. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP stories, photos or graphics. http://www.afp.com/
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from the
Elton John AIDS Foundation, National Library of Medicine, AIDS Walk of Orange County, and donations from users like you.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. This article first appeared in 2009. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2009. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.