Bruni’s rivalry with Michelle Obama ‘strained relations’

FRENCH President Nicolas Sarkozy’s marriage to Carla Bruni, an Italian-born heiress and ex-supermodel long considered among the world’s most desirable women, was touted as a coup for the French leader.

But the author of Carla: A Secret Life – an unauthorised biography chronicling her transformation from an allegedly tempestuous man-eater into an apparent meek, model spouse – suggests Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has become something of a political liability for her husband.

Besma Lahouri says Bruni-Sarkozy’s alleged rivalry with Michelle Obama has strained relations between the French and US presidential couples, and her image of distant, well-heeled perfection has kept her at arm’s length from the French people.