Bruni-Sarkozy gives birth to baby daughter

FRENCH First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy last night gave birth to a daughter — her first child with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Massive crowds had gathered behind a security cordon outside the La Muette clinic in Paris ahead of the arrival.

The baby girl, whose name is unknown, is the first child born to a ruling French leader since Napoleon. Bruni-Sarkozy has a boy from a previous relationship, while Sarkozy also has three sons.

Sarkozy had visited his wife in the clinic yesterday but left to travel to Frankfurt for talks on the eurozone debt crisis.

Clinique de La Muette denied that a whole floor had been booked and cordoned off to ensure Bruni-Sarkozy’s privacy, but confirmed a couple of €250-a-night rooms on either side of her suite would be occupied by security officers.

Bruni-Sarkozy has always insisted she would never make photographs of the child public because “exposure to public life is an adult choice”.

The first photograph of the child is reportedly worth up to €75,000.

The public was yesterday moved behind a security cordon 100m away from the entrance.

There were reports that people visiting other women giving birth had been searched by police before being allowed to enter.

Last month Bruni-Sarkozy spoke of her desperation to get the pregnancy over with — as she was longing to start drinking alcohol and smoking again.

“Quite frankly, I can’t stand it any more. I spend most of my time either sitting down or lying down. I can’t drink or smoke any more. I’m in a hurry to get it over with,” she told French newspaper Le Parisien.

According to reports, Bruni-Sarkozy, 43, who confirmed her pregnancy in July, delivered the baby around 8pm at the Clinque de la Muette after arriving earlier in the day.

The Elysee Palace has never commented on the pregnancy, or confirmed the birth.

Sarkozy married Carla Bruni in 2008, becoming the first French leader to divorce and remarry while in office.