Carla Bruni books reveal there are two sides to every story

By John Lichfield in Paris
The Independent, 16 September 2010

A much-awaited "unauthorised" biography of the French first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, published yesterday, paints a scathing picture of a vain and selfish woman who neglects her official and charitable work.

But the Elysée Palace has not allowed the book's author to have the field to herself. Having failed in a bid to block its publication, Ms Bruni's supporters are reported to have encouraged the writing of a rival biography that is to be published tomorrow – and which is said to paint a far more positive picture of the supermodel and pop singer.

It is not clear that the unauthorised volume will present them with the publicity difficulties that they might have initially feared. Although the book is entitled Carla Bruni, une vie secrète it contains few revelations on the past, or present, life of Ms Bruni, who married the French President in 2008.
Shocks are even less likely to abound in the authorised alternative. Carla and the Ambitious was prepared with the co-operation of the first lady, and the authors, Yves Derai and Michael Darmon, focus their attention on her time as the President's wife.


Besma Lahouri's book, in contrast, traces Ms Bruni's volcanic love affairs with a series of celebrities, including Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton, before she met President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007. It quotes an unnamed plastic surgeon as claiming that he remodelled Ms Bruni's nose when she was a young woman – something that she has always denied.
Full story ay The Independent.