Fresh from his visit to the British shores, Pope Benedict XVI held an audience with French President Nicolas Sarkozy earlier this month at the Vatican.Rumours are rife that Mr Sarkozy requested the meeting with the pontiff following the publication in France of numerous surveys that showed his approval rating amongst French Catholics has fallen from 61% down to 47% in the space of 12 months, with some of that decline due to the controversy over the Roma expulsions.
While Sarkozy was brought up as a Catholic, he is hardly a saint – he is after all twice-divorced. But his current wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy was strangely and noticeably absent from the visit.
At the time the Elysée Palace made no comment on why the first lady stayed in Paris for the Vatican trip but now all has been revealed thanks to the satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaîné who have revealed it was Benedict XVI himself who told Ms Bruni to stay away from the Vatican.
The reason according to Le Canard: the Pope was concerned that her presence would spark a rash of nude and scantily-clad photos from her modelling career being published in Italian newspapers.
While the Italian press’s love for this material is well-known, Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy is a photographer’s dream when she accompanies her husband on official business and adds an often much-needed touch of glamour to proceedings à la Michelle Obama, and as the photo above shows did meet the Pope during his visit to France in late 2008.
But she has undeniably courted attention and nude and semi-naked pictures from her days as a model are regularly published in the media. Even at the BBC when a black and white print of her baring all and covering her intimacy with her hands was auctioned off at Christie's days after her first state visit to Britain in March 2008.
