Posing for photographs with the wives of other leaders on
the sidelines of a Group of Eight summit in the French resort of Deauville, she
wore a loose-fitting white smock dress which at times stretched over an obvious
bump around the midriff.
The former model has not confirmed rumors she is
expecting, but she has made no great effort to dispel them; she has fended off
direct questions with coy giggles and has taken to concealing a noticeably
heavy midriff under baggy clothing. On Wednesday, members of a British charity
delivered a maternity basket to the 43-year-old Bruni containing a childbirth
kit and hygiene supplies, as a way of publicizing the issue of child mortality
in the developing world.
Her husband, President Nicolas Sarkozy, has refused to
comment on the reports the first couple are expecting their first child together,
but last week a German newspaper quoted his father as saying the rumors were
true. A presidential baby could be a public relations boon for Sarkozy, who is
grappling with some of the lowest popularity ratings of any French leader in
decades and faces a tough battle for reelection next April.
Italian-born Bruni,
who has a career as a pop singer, has a son from a former relationship and has
often said she would like to have a child with Sarkozy. It would be Sarkozy's
fourth child after the three sons he has from two former marriages.
