French first lady releases new album

She charmed the queen of England, captivated Israel, impressed President Bush and won over the hardest sell of all -- the French.

But can France's first lady, top model turned songstress Carla Bruni who married President Nicolas Sarkozy in February, keep spinning the magic once her new album comes out July 11?

Its success, or failure, could be an affair of state.

The Italian-born Bruni (officially Bruni-Sarkozy) makes an unlikely spouse for any national leader. But in France, where a deep conservatism runs through the lush heartland, she is in many ways the very antithesis of a first lady.

A self-described modern woman, the 40-year-old one-time single mother makes no secret of her freewheeling past, including high-profile trysts with the likes of Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton.

Yet while the French have been scandalized by Sarkozy's own splashy lifestyle and his very public divorce just months after winning office, they have taken to Bruni in a big way.

With her high society upbringing and easy elegance, Bruni has defied France's special laws of gravity, gaining accolades from the press and favorable ratings in opinion polls.

"She has even shown herself to be a very intelligent woman," said Jean-Luc Parodi, a longtime political analyst. "The way she has handled herself since her marriage shows a real finesse in understanding both the president and French society."

The title of the new album -- her third -- is revealing: "Comme si de rien n'etait" (As If Nothing Had Happened). It comes out in numerous European countries July 11, sandwiched between the G-8 summit in Japan and a July 13 summit of world leaders in Paris. The album is to be released in the United States in August, under its French title.

At the Elysee presidential palace -- where the first lady maintains an office but has yet to take up permanent residence -- Bruni's fortunes are of keen strategic interest. An aide and friend of Sarkozy, Pierre Charon, has been assigned to guide her through the minefields of French politics.

"For the moment, she's a good card," said Colombe Pringle, executive editor of the celebrity magazine "Point de Vue," before adding: "It can turn very fast ... It might backlash."

"It's important that (the album) is good," she said.

Sarkozy took office in May 2007 with sky-high approval ratings but within six months had used up that reservoir of support. His messy October divorce from Cecilia Sarkozy and a brash, showy style that won him the nickname "President Bling-Bling" alarmed the French who like their presidents to appear, well, presidential.

Beyond image, Sarkozy's failure to quickly bring about promised change, like easing pinched pocketbooks, sealed the disappointment.

Then Carla to the rescue.