Sarkozy and Bruni schedule a baby as a vote-winning 'personal event'

Published on Wednesday 12 August 2009 22:07

NICOLAS Sarkozy and Carla Bruni are planning to have their first child together in 2011, a leading French magazine has claimed.

The French leader hopes that having a baby will boost his chances of winning the presidential election the following year, it was reported.

Rumours that the couple were planning to start a family were revealed in glossy mass-market magazine Voici yesterday.

Mr Sarkozy, 54, already has three children from two previous marriages, and Ms Bruni, 41, a former supermodel, has a son from a previous relationship.

Voici magazine said: "Sources in the French parliament have confirmed to us that Mr Sarkozy and Ms Bruni are planning a baby for two years' time.

"The rumour has been circulating for several weeks.

"The 'first couple' are planning a surprise pregnancy to win public sympathy ahead of the campaign for the 2012 elections."

Mr Sarkozy and Ms Bruni are said to have hatched the plan following the mass of public support the president received after falling ill and collapsing while jogging last month.

The magazine suggests that the couple hope another high-profile "personal event" could win Mr Sarkozy crucial votes in his attempt to become president for a second term.

Voici, which did not reveal its sources, added: "The idea is said to have sprung from the sudden rush of sympathy the French had for Mr Sarkozy after his recent illness.

"It's something they have been planning for a while."

Mr Sarkozy has sons Pierre, 24, and Jean, 22, from his first marriage to Marie-Dominique Culioli, whom he divorced in 1996. He has a 12-year-old son, Louis, from his second marriage, to Ccilia Ciganer-Albniz, whom he divorced in 2007.

Mr Bruni – who has had previous relationships with rock giants Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton – has an eight-year-old son, Aurelian, with philosophy professor Raphael Enthoven.

Ms Bruni and Mr Sarkozy began a whirlwind romance after meeting at a dinner party in Paris in November 2007.

They married three months later at a private ceremony in the lyse Palace on 2 February, 2008.

An insider at Voici magazine said: "It seems the president feels that, due to his age, if he doesn't have a child now, it will be too late.

"He also believes such a happy event could be a vote-winner in 2012. So, for both these reasons, the timing would be perfect."

The lyse Palace refused to comment on the rumours yesterday. An official said: "We have heard nothing about this."