PARIS: French President Nicolas Sarkozy collapsed while jogging Sunday on the lush grounds of the Chateau of Versailles and will stay at a hospital overnight even though tests so far have found nothing wrong, his office said.

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy (C) is flanked by security officers after jogging in New York's Central Park in this July 17, 2009 file photo. [Agencies]

Military doctors quickly performed a battery of tests on the 54-year-old president, who is known for his hyperactivity. The presidential Elysee Palace said Sarkozy's test results were normal but that doctors would keep him under cardiological observation until Monday.

Upon his collapse, Sarkozy was rushed by helicopter to a military hospital. His office denied the president had lost consciousness in the episode. The Elysee Palace statement followed reports from members of Sarkozy's government and his chief of staff, who had indicated that Sarkozy had lost consciousness.

Sarkozy, an avid jogger and cyclist, was forced to interrupt his run and "lie down with the help of an aide," the statement said. A presidential doctor who is with Sarkozy at all times sounded the alert and administered initial treatment.

Doctors at the Val de Grace military hospital conducted neurological, blood and cardiological tests as well as an EEG, an electroencephalogram. Sarkozy, ever mindful of his image, received close advisers Sunday to keep up on the news and was resting, the statement said. A new health bulletin was expected Monday morning.

"He's doing well. He's hungry. He's grousing, so everything's OK," Patrick Balkany, a close friend and deputy mayor of the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret told RTL radio. Balkany said Sarkozy was on a diet and doing too much. "I hope, moreover, for him, that this is a healthy warning," Balkany added.

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi and former French President Jacques Chirac were among those who sent Sarkozy wishes for a speedy recovery.