Carla Bruni a hit with French public 07/04/2008 00:00

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, whose celebrity romance with President Nicolas Sarkozy sent his ratings into a tailspin, is proving a hit with the public in her new role.

   PARIS, April 7, 2008  - French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, whose
celebrity romance with President Nicolas Sarkozy sent his ratings into a
tailspin, is proving a hit with the public in her new role, a poll showed
Sunday.
   According to the CSA poll, published in Le Parisien newspaper 10 days after
the former supermodel-turned-singer wowed crowds in Britain on her first state
visit, nine in 10 French people see her as "elegant" and "modern."
   Bruni-Sarkozy's immaculately turned out appearance at Sarkozy's side during
their March 26-27 visit to London drew admiring comparisons to Princess Diana
and Jackie Kennedy in the British press.
   Sixty-percent of respondents expected she would help to modernise France's
image abroad, and 47 percent that she could help to promote French culture.
   Another 73 percent described Bruni-Sarkozy as "nice," with an even higher
figure of 74 percent among left-wing voters, aware of the first lady's many
friendships on the political left.
   Sixty-nine percent thought she was "intelligent" and 61 percent "discreet"
in the role of first lady, reflecting her recent efforts to cultivate a
demure, classic image, far from the glamour of the catwalk.
   But a majority of respondents, 64 percent, warned the first lady would not 
improve their view of Sarkozy, whose approval ratings have been stuck under
the 40-percent mark since February.
   A TNS-Sofres poll published in Le Figaro on Saturday showed the president's
confidence rating steady at 37 percent, with 60 percent of respondents saying
they did not trust him to solve France's problems.
   Sarkozy's ratings plunged 20 points at the end of last year, as his divorce
from his second wife Cecilia Ciganer-Albeniz and highly-publicised romance
with Bruni gave voters the impression he was neglecting his pledges on the
economy.
   Sarkozy married Bruni-Sarkozy on February 2. Cecilia married a
Moroccan-born events organizer in New York on March 24.

AFP