Ex-model in "real love story" with France's Sarkozy

By Anna Willard

PARIS (Reuters) - Singer and former super model Carla Bruni is living a true love story with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, her mother told a newspaper on Sunday.

Sarkozy has whisked the glamorous dark-haired Bruni off to Egypt and Disneyland during the whirlwind romance with pictures of the amorous pair featured in the French and foreign media.

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) and his new girlfriend, former supermodel Carla Bruni, walk together during a visit to the Valley of the Queens (Tomb of Nefertari), near Luxor December 27, 2007. (REUTERS/Stringer)

The French press has speculated that Sarkozy has paraded his new girlfriend as a diversion from a series of negative headlines and opposition politicians have accused him of blurring the lines between public and private lives.

But Carla's mother, Marisa Borini, said it was a case of true love.

"Carla is living a real love story. And I think they complement each other very well," she told Le Parisien daily.

Bruni, 39, and Sarkozy, 50, met at a party in November, just weeks after divorcing his second wife Cecilia who said the marriage failed because she hated life in the limelight.

Bruni's mother said if her daughter, who has previously been linked to singer Mick Jagger, guitarist Eric Clapton and business tycoon Donald Trump, became France's first lady, she would need time away from the spotlight to write music.

"Carla is a musician, poet. Artistic drive is something very strong. You can't give it up," she said.

"If Carla becomes the first lady of France, she will have to keep a place and time for herself to write."

BEYOND BEAUTY

But according to Borini, Sarkozy has seen beyond her supermodel looks and appreciates her artistic side.

"I think that the president has not only seen her beauty but he also respects her artistic side. We talked about it. He agrees," she said.

If Bruni did become France's first lady, it would likely be a disappointment to Sarkozy's own mother who told a magazine earlier this month she did not want him to marry again.

The private lives of French politicians have traditionally been kept out of the media, but Sarkozy's personal life is increasingly becoming part of his presidency, much to the disgust of opposition politicians.

Last week he came under fire for using a jet owned by billionaire entrepreneur Vincent Bollore, one of France's most influential businessmen, to fly to Egypt on holiday where he toured Luxor with Bruni ahead of an official visit on Sunday.

"Nicolas Sarkozy has the right to go on holiday where he wants with whom he wants," Socialist party leader Francois Hollande told Sunday's Le Parisien.

"But what is not acceptable, is the permanent confusion ... between the private life and public life, personal interest and general interest, private financing and public financing."

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