Carla Bruni to Sing at Mandela's Birthday

(NEWSER) - French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy took the stage yesterday to sing at Nelson Mandela's 91st birthday concert in New York City—to mixed reviews, reports the Times of London. The model-turned-singer, who previously vowed not to perform while her husband was in office, sang her hit "Quelqu'un m'a dit" ("Someone Told Me") and Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" with Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame. More»

Trying to blend in as Nicolas Sarkozy battles for political life

(NEWSER) - French First Lady Carla Bruni Sarkozy likes to mingle with the hoi polloi in Paris—but she does does so, incognito, in a wig, she reveals. "With a wig on, no one recognizes me on the Metro," she tells the Nouvel Observateur . "Recently, I even had my bag searched at the Maritime museum"—just like any normal person. France erupted in guffaws last month when the multimillionaire heiress boasted that she and hubby Nicolas Sarkozy were just " simple, modest " folk. The image of a bewigged Carla mingling with the populace appears to be the latest effort to remake "President Bling" into a man of the people as he battles Socialist François Hollande in the French presidential election, notes the Guardian . More»

New book spills about why the French first couple is late so often

(NEWSER) - Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy once kept a head of state waiting for a meeting, but they had a good excuse—they were having sex. The revelation about the French president and his ex-supermodel wife gets juicier, ABC News reports: It involves the Obamas. No, not like that! Bruni-Sarkozy "wanted to know if, like the Sarkozys, Michelle and the President had ever kept anyone waiting that way," Jonathan Alter of Newsweek writes in his new book, The Promise: President Obama, Year One. More»

Carla with singer, Prez cuddling minister, says media

(NEWSER) - The French media is buzzing with rumors that President Nicolas Sarkozy and First Lady Carla Bruni have both found lovers. Bruni has reportedly hopped into the bed of hunky French musician Benjamin Biolay, and the president quickly found solace in the arms of his comely junior minister for ecology, Chantal Jouanno, according to reports that first circulated on Twitter and were picked up by the Sunday newspaper Journal du Dimanche and other outlets. More»

US first lady tops Elle's 'political chic' category

(NEWSER) - The French edition of Elle magazine puts Michelle Obama at the top of the "political chic" category in its yearly best-dressed list—ahead of French first lady Carla Bruni, a former supermodel. Elle said it favored strong personalities and distinctive styles in this year's selection, and marveled that "Mrs Obama resembles no-one else. Her style is unique. She encourages young designers and has succeeded in imposing the waisted cardigan as official dress." More»