THE TELEGRAPH: French President Nicolas Sarkozy's wife Carla Bruni's alleged rivalry with Michelle Obama has strained relations between the French and US presidential couples.
The author of "Carla: A Secret Life" - a biography chronicling her transformation from an allegedly tempestuous man-eater into an apparent model spouse - suggests Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has become something of a political liability for her husband.
Besma Lahouri says Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy's image of distant, well-heeled perfection has kept her at arm's length from the French people.
At a time when the conservative president's popularity has plummeted, and he is being criticised for raising the retirement age and cracking down on Eastern European Gypsy immigrants, having a more accessible first lady might soften his image, she said.
"The French don't know their first lady, and her worries seem to them very far removed from their own," Lahouri. >>> The Telegraph’s Foreign Staff | Wednesday, September 15, 2010
