Carla Bruni has given birth to a baby girl, becoming the only serving first lady of France to have had a child.
President Nicolas Sarkozy is said to have spent half an hour with his wife and the new arrival before rushing off to Germany to meet chancellor Angela Merkel.
It is reported that police and plain-clothes security surrounded the Paris clinic in which Bruni gave birth, even frisking new fathers that were visiting their own wives at the exclusive facility.
Bruni has apparently insisted that the birth is a “private matter” and has even vowed that her new daughter will never be photographed by the press.
Sarkozy, 56, is expected to return to his 43-year-old wife after his meeting with Merkel.
Bruni has a 10-year-old son from a previous relationship. Sarkozy has two sons, 26-year-old Pierre and 25-year-old Jean, from his first marriage, and a third son, Louis, 14, from his second.
Sarkozy and Bruni married after a whirlwind 80-day romance.
Bruni, an Italian-born former model, counts rockers Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton among her exes.
In a recent interview, Bruni said of her pregnancy: “Quite frankly, I can’t stand it anymore. I can’t drink or smoke any more. I’m in a hurry to get it over with.”
