First Lady of France, Carla-style

Friday 13 June 2008

After a seven-month relationship and a four-month marriage with Nicolas Sarkozy, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has succeeded in forging her own version of the First Lady post: a mix of Jackie Kennedy and Danielle Mitterrand.

Last week the funeral ceremony for the late French designer Yves Saint Laurent was front-page news.  It seems most newspapers agreed to run only one photo: that of Pierre Berge, Saint Laurent’s partner, in the arms of Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.  Some newspapers opted for a wider angle of the shot, one that included Nicolas Sarkozy flanking the duo.

The images beg the following questions: Are we seeing a first lady accompanying a president, or an ex-model being escorted by her husband?  After a seven-month relationship, four of those as a married couple, is Carla Bruni-Sarkozy stealing the spotlight from her president-husband?

“She’s not a woman who plays second-fiddle,” writes Yves Derai, editor of the book Carla and Nicolas, the Real Story, written by Valerie Benaïm and Yves Azéroual whom the First Lady has confided in. “I would not be surprised if, someday, Nicolas Sarkozy found himself to be the husband of Carla, much in the way of Princess Diana and Charles.”

“She has learned to presidentialize herself”

For their part, the French seem to have already adopted the new First Lady.  According to a survey published on June 8 in the newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, 68 percent of French people think she is fulfilling her role.  “No program, no campaign, no mandate and she’s already been elected before we fully realized it,” writes Roselyne Febvre, political journalist at FRANCE 24.

“She has learned to ‘presidentialize’ herself by giving off an image that fits her job description,” thinks Arnaud Mercier, professor of political communication at Metz University.

At the beginning of their relationship it seemed Carla had been charmed by Nicolas Sarkozy, at Euro Disney, or maybe it was in Jordan.  But the times when the couple pretended to be American celebrities came to an end.  “They realized that they had to keep their appearances in the public arena in check,” says Mercier.

“She tames the media”

Since their marriage in February, a new communications strategy has been implemented, according to Arnaud Mercier.  The First Lady put it into practice for the occasion of her first official visit to England in March.  Donning a gray lady’s suit she established her “Jackie Kennedy” look, winning over both the French and the international press.  “Carla, First Lady of Chic,” read the Daily Mail’s headline the day after her visit.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, who does not mind being called simply Carla Sarkozy (“it sounds soft to my ear”), well-trained by her advising consultant Pierre Charon, has succeeded in seducing the media. “She loves to seduce, she is funny and smart, and above all she is very relaxed around media, it’s a habit,” says Yves Derai.  As co-author of the book about Cecilia Sarkozy Ruptures (Breakups), he has had the opportunity to meet both women.  “Carla tames the media, unlike Cecilia who was much more on the defensive,” notes Derai.

“In politics she is no neophyte”

Two First Ladies with two very different styles.  One is a singer, the other a politician. But for Yves Derai, Carla knows how to defend herself when it comes to politics.  “She is not such a neophyte as she leads us to believe.”  She arrived with a well-stocked rolodex, especially heavy with names in the Socialist ranks. “She has stronger convictions than Cecilia, who was more interested in people and events, and less in fundamental issues.”

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy supports certain movements, such as the liberation of the Franco-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt.  She also knows when to keep her distance: she did not follow her husband to Italy.  The Franco-Italian does not hide her dislike of Silvio Berlusconi.  “I don’t feel right since he was elected president of the Council,” she confessed in the book Carla and Nicolas, The True Story.

“In that aspect, she reminds us of Danielle Mitterrand,” says Arnaud Mercier.  The wife of François Mitterrand, well-known for her activist past, sometimes put the president in a difficult spot because of her support of Fidel Castro.

“The couple has formed an EIG: Elysee Interest Group”

Carla has found her place as First Lady, but reminds readers in the book that it is a “job”, and not a “career.”  She intends to hold on to her career as a singer.  The verdict will come down on July 21, when her latest album “Comme si de rien n'était” (“As if nothing happened”) hits stores under the name Carla Bruni.  Her previous album “No Promises” (2007) did not experience the same success as her debut "Quelqu’un m’a dit" (2002).  She has promised to do little promotion and no concerts during the next four years.

“Does she still enjoy credibility among her fans?  Will the French try to discover her as a singer?” asks Arnaud Mercier.  It seems the answer is yes: 57 percent of the population does not see a conflict between her title and her career.

Carla and Nicolas, a well-oiled machine. “It’s the crash between two ambitions,” says Roselyne Febvre, who compares the couple to an “EIG”: an Elysee Interest Group.  But the machine has to hold until 2012. Febvre likes to remind people about a television car commercial which features Carla Bruni. The ad, which aired just before the couple met, stipulated: “It comes with a five year guarantee.”