Baby girl for French first lady, but dad misses birth

Nicolas Sarkozy was said to have missed the birth of the girl, which had been expected for the last fortnight.

He had visited his 43-year-old wife after she was admitted to the La Muette clinic earlier in the day, but left just half an hour later to travel to Germany for talks on the eurozone debt crisis.

The baby is the first in modern history to be born to a French presidential couple in office. The president has three sons from two previous marriages, while his wife, 43, has a son from a previous relationship.

However, the Elysee Palace, the presidential palace, has said it will not make any announcement because the pregnancy is a private family matter.

Although members of the first lady’s inner circle confirmed the birth, no name was made public last night.

Reports last night said Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy was “doing well”.

According to French media reports the baby was born around 8pm.

Witnesses outside the clinic said a security cordon had been set up, with crowds and journalists moved 100m away from the entrance. People visiting other women giving birth were searched by police before being allowed to enter.

Italian-born Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy, the only serving French first lady to have given birth, has maintained a low profile while pregnant, appearing only rarely in public.

She told Le Parisien newspaper earlier that she would never make photographs of the child public because “exposure to public life is an adult choice”.

She also insisted the French public had little interest in the pregnancy, and that she was “in a hurry to get it over with”.

However, the birth will come as a relief to long-suffering residents around La Muette in the upmarket 16th arrondissement of Paris. Police have sealed off roads around the clinic since the beginning of the month and security has been tight ever since.