Save the horses, merci beaucoup.
Former French President Nicholas Sarkozy threw his support behind the carriage horse industry Wednesday after taking his cherubic daughter for a leisurely spin around Central Park.
Asked if he thought the horse-drawn buggies should stay in business, he offered an enthusiastic “yes.”
The ex-president got so cozy with the driver and the friendly horse that pulled his shiny red carriage that he posed for pictures after the ride.
Hoisting his little girl Julia, his child with wife Carla Bruni, Sarkozy briefly hobnobbed before heading off to shop for toys at FAO Schwarz.
Sarkozy wasn’t the only tourist enjoying the park.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION TO SAVE HORSE CARRIAGES
Nearly 900 equine lovers picked up “Save Our Horses” buttons given out by The News on Wednesday in Central Park. Their voices were added to the more than 20,000 people who signed the newspaper’s petition — online and through conventional mail — asking Mayor de Blasio not to ban the horses.
“Riding a horse carriage was one of our wedding gifts. We added it to the register of gifts and it became one of the most popular,” said Niamh Mourton, 30, who snuggled in the back of a carriage with her new husband, Stuart Mourton.
The lovebirds got hitched March 14 before coming to New York — and rushed to cash in their wedding gift before the beloved industry disappears.
“A lot of people in England are hearing that they want to ban the horses. A lot of people like us are coming to enjoy the carriages before they go away. They are the best newlywed gifts,” said the young wife.
“It’s very romantic taking a slow ride on the park,” her husband said. “They are such a part of the city.”
De Blasio, who was skeptical of a ban when he was a member of the City Council in 2007, changed his tune over the years as the anti-carriage crowd showered him with campaign cash. By 2011, he said it was time to pursue “more humane alternatives to the horse-drawn carriages.”
During his mayoral campaign, anti-carriage groups funded a relentless ad blitz against Christine Quinn, de Blasio’s chief rival. De Blasio vowed to ban the industry within his first week in office.
He hasn’t responded to questions from The News on the impact campaign contributions may have had on his views about the horse-carriage industry.
Marina Massari, 58, enjoyed a carriage ride with her 11-year-old daughter, Alexa. She couldn’t imagine Central Park without the horses.
“They are a New York institution,” said Massari, of Huntington, Calif. “They seem to do well here. They are a different side of New York.”
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