The Bruni-Sarkozy heir

Roberta Namour, 247 correspondent in Paris

She claimed to keep her mouth shut, but her secret has just been revealed by the enthusiastic future grandfather. Pal Sarkozy, the father of the French president, confirmed to a German tabloid, Bild, the rumor that has been circulating for over a month: at 43 years old, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is expecting her second child, her first with her current husband. "Nicolas and Carla don't want to know the baby's sex, but I'm sure it will be a girl as beautiful as her mother," said the grandfather. According to the Italian newspaper La Stampa, Marisa Bruni, the first lady's mother, also let slip a confidence: "I'm going to have a new grandchild," she said. Despite the happy moment, the Élysée Palace, as well as the child's parents, refuse to make any comment. Why so much secrecy? Faced with a terrible crisis of unpopularity, President Sarkozy decided to step out of the spotlight and focus on structuring his re-election campaign. And now, more than ever, the government prefers to leave the media free to focus on the sexual assault scandal involving Dominique Strauss-Kahn, its main opponent in 2012, in order to weaken the left.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, who recently declared herself willing to do anything to help her husband get re-elected, has been playing her role well. In several appearances, she has sought to avoid discussing her private life. "It's not a matter of arrogance or a liking for secrecy, but I'm keeping my mouth shut to protect something and to protect the work Nicolas Sarkozy is doing," she said. "I would very much like to talk about my family life from woman to woman, but it takes on such an important proportion…," she added. This discretion led to a rather embarrassing moment for the First Lady on a television news program yesterday. Present in the TF1 studio for an interview, the presenter concluded his segment by saying: "I know you hate talking about your personal life, but I simply want to congratulate you." Embarrassed, Carla replied that she congratulated him equally.

The couple, who used to take extravagant and media-savvy vacations, also opted for something quite discreet this time. Nicolas Sazkozy swapped the glamorous south of France for a stay in the Paris region in April – without losing the glamour, of course. The chosen location was the La Lanterne residence in Versailles, away from the flashing lights.

Everything indicates that baby Bruni-Sarkozy will be born in late October or early November, in the midst of the presidential election campaign. If this information is confirmed, it will be the first time in the history of the Fifth Republic that a French president has had a child during his term.