London, Nov 10: French first lady Carla Bruni has raised a fresh controversy by slamming Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for his “suntan” remark about U. S. President-elect Barack Obama.

The pop singer-wife of President Nicolas Sarkozy also denounced France for systemic racial discrimination.

It is feared that her comments may risk France’s split from the rest of Europe.

The 40-year-old supermodel has roused many with her outspoken support for a petition in favour of affirmative action in France in the wake of Obama’s presidential victory.

And the Italian-born icon of leftwing chic raised many eyebrows when she commented in Berlusconi''s joke, in which he had remarked that Obama had an admirable suntan.

London, Nov 4: French first lady Carla Bruni has been named ‘The Coolest Person Of The Year’ in a poll.

According to the survey, nearly one in four Brits said that the wife of President Nicolas Sarkozy was their favourite hip celeb, reports the Sun.

The 40-year-old hit headlines this year when she met the Queen and saw a nude portrait of herself fetch 45,000 pounds.

She has beaten Wuthering Heights singer Kate Bush, who won 14 per cent of votes in the survey of 4,000.

Paris  - Apparently not too shy to carry out some high- profile public relations on her own, France's First Lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, has presented each cabinet minister with a copy of her latest recording, the daily Le Figaro reported Tuesday.

Issued under her artist's name, Carla Bruni, the album, Comme Si de Rien N'Etait (As If Nothing Happened), shot to the top of the French charts two weeks after it came out.

But, according to unsubstantiated rumours, her husband's office at the Elysee Palace is said to have bought up a large number of the recordings.

France’s one of the most influential political journals, has given a tag name -"modern-day Marie Antoinette", to the country’s most glamorous lady Carla Bruni.

London, May 8 : A month after her Britain visit, French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has revealed her 'terrible fear' she felt before meeting the Queen - until the monarch showed her to her bathroom.

In her most revealing interview to date, the former supermodel offered tantalising details about her state visit to Britain with her husband, President Nicolas Sarkozy.

“Buckingham [Palace], for me was terrible fear and an incredible adventure. It was a rite of passage. It was like arriving on another planet!” the Telegraph quoted her, as telling Paris Match.

New York, Apr 11 : A photo of French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, standing naked in a pigeon-toed pose – while covering her modesty with her hands – has been sold for a whopping 91,000 dollars.

The nude portrait was auctioned as part of a sale of 140 photos from German collector Gert Elfering.

The topless photo of model-turned-French First Lady was sold on April 10 after a furious bidding war erupted at Christie's auction house.