France's Bruni confirms pregnant, won't reveal gender (Reuters)

PARIS (Reuters) – France's first lady Carla Bruni spoke openly about her pregnancy for the first time in a newspaper interview published on Friday -- but kept the baby's gender a secret.

Rumors have swirled for months, starting with a story in gossip magazine Closer in April and followed by near-obsessive coverage of Bruni's baby bump, but Friday's interview with regional daily Nice Matin was the first official confirmation the presidential couple are expecting their first child.

Bruni is said to be due to give birth in the autumn, around the time President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to announce he will run for a second term in next year's election.

Bruni, a singer-songwriter and former model, declined to say whether her baby was a boy or a girl.

"There are some things that one has to keep secret," she said.

Asked why she had been so discreet, Bruni, 43, said: "First in order to protect myself, to avoid having to expose my personal life. It's a great joy for me, but one that is fairly banal after all."

"People have other problems and it would be out of place to talk about it too much," she added.

Photographed by Nice Matin, Bruni appears relaxed and maternal in a flowing pink gown, lounging on a floral-patterned sofa and strolling through the gardens of Fort de Bregancon, the president's retreat in the south of France.

Shots of Bruni taken in May at the G8 summit in Deauville, showing her wearing a black dress with a prominent bump, garnered intense coverage and nearly overshadowed an otherwise protocol-heavy gathering of world leaders.

Friday's interview, the day after the Bastille Day national holiday when many French people are relaxing at vacation homes, had the feel of a well-staged press event, coming on the heels of a photo spread in Paris Match magazine featuring the presidential couple lazing in swimwear at the beach.

With Sarkozy laboring under weak poll ratings nine months from the election, Bruni's pregnancy appears to be a stroke of good fortune that could win sympathy points with some voters.

Sarkozy and his former wife, Cecilia, divorced shortly after he was elected in 2007. He has since accustomed the French public to following episodes of his private life as they are played out in gossip magazines.

While many people say they would prefer a more low-key president, plenty are still interested in Sarkozy and his private affairs. He was recently the subject of a film called "La Conquete" which has drawn nearly 700,000 viewers since it came out in May.

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

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France's Carla Bruni shows off bump at G8 summit (Reuters)

DEAUVILLE, France (Reuters) – French first lady Carla Bruni showed off a rounded belly on Thursday that left little room for doubt that reports she is pregnant are true.

Posing for photographs with the wives of other leaders on the sidelines of a Group of Eight summit in the French resort of Deauville, she wore a loose-fitting white smock dress which at times stretched over an obvious bump around the midriff.

The former model has not confirmed rumors she is expecting, but she has made no great effort to dispel them; she has fended off direct questions with coy giggles and has taken to concealing a noticeably heavy midriff under baggy clothing.

On Wednesday, members of a British charity delivered a maternity basket to the 43-year-old Bruni containing a childbirth kit and hygiene supplies, as a way of publicizing the issue of child mortality in the developing world.

Her husband, President Nicolas Sarkozy, has refused to comment on the reports the first couple are expecting their first child together, but last week a German newspaper quoted his father as saying the rumors were true.

A presidential baby could be a public relations boon for Sarkozy, who is grappling with some of the lowest popularity ratings of any French leader in decades and faces a tough battle for reelection next April.

Italian-born Bruni, who has a career as a pop singer, has a son from a former relationship and has often said she would like to have a child with Sarkozy. It would be Sarkozy's fourth child after the three sons he has from two former marriages.

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Carla Bruni interview fuels pregnancy rumours (AFP)

PARIS (AFP) – A cryptic television interview by French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy on Monday fuelled speculation that she is pregnant with President Nicolas Sarkozy's child.

Journalists had widely expected Bruni to announce she was pregnant when she scheduled a live interview on the top lunch time news show of privately-owned channel TF1, but she tantalisingly avoided confirming it openly.

Instead of asking the million-dollar question, presenter Jean-Pierre Pernaut quizzed Bruni for several minutes on her charity work against child illiteracy, before dispatching the pregnancy issue in a matter of seconds.

"I know you don't like people talking about your private life, but I just want to congratulate you," Pernaut said.

The supermodel-turned-singer Bruni smiled shyly and replied: "I congratulate you too," without saying what for. The interview then ended.

Following the cryptic exchange, many celebrity-watchers raced to social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook to claim that the interview was tacitly confirming that Bruni, 43, is expecting Sarkozy's child.

But the mainstream news agenda in France was dominated by the arrest of IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn on sexual assault charges. He was Sarkozy's top potential rival in next year's presidential election before his arrest.

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French ads have fun with Carla Bruni baby rumour (AFP)

PARIS (AFP) – French advertising agencies are seeking to exploit a wave of gossip about First Lady Carla Bruni's rumoured pregnancy, poking gentle fun at a story she has refused to confirm or deny.

The 43-year-old supermodel-turned-singer married President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008 and has since given birth to an album of self-penned ballads but no new heir -- despite repeated rumours.

With Sarkozy languishing in the opinion polls and facing a tough battle for re-election next May, speculation is again rife that the Italian-born heiress may be carrying a pre-poll surprise.

Bruni herself did nothing to slow the rumour mill last week when she told an invited panel of readers of Le Parisien newspaper that her "lips are, in a sense, sealed" when asked about a pregnancy.

The French press is traditionally more respectful of the private life of public figures than its British or US counterparts, but that has not stopped advertisers from profiting from the buzz.

"So, Carla, do you feel like eating strawberries, or not?" asked a mother's wear firm in the pages of Liberation, referring to the popular theory that expectant mothers crave soft fruit.

Meanwhile, a car firm marketing a new minivan asked: "Dear Madame Bruni, would you perhaps be in the market for a family sized car?"

Sarkozy, 56, has three sons from previous marriages, and Bruni a 10-year-old son with the philosopher Raphael Enthoven.

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