The New Nation - Internet Edition

BBC Online

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said his relationship with former supermodel Carla Bruni is "serious" but refused to reveal any wedding plans.

He told reporters there was a "strong chance" the media would only learn about the wedding after the event.

The whirlwind romance between the two has been making headlines in France and Bruni's native Italy for weeks.

Sarkozy, 52, and his wife Cecilia announced their divorce in October, after being married for 11 years.

His popularity has fallen by several points according to several opinion polls since the New Year, a decline attributed by many to the over-exposure of his private life. Many French people increasingly see his romance with Ms Bruni as impulsive, flashy, vulgar and, most importantly, distracting from his work as president, the BBC's Emma Jane Kirby reports from Paris.

But at a press conference in Paris, Sarkozy also defended his political record since becoming president in May, commenting on everything from the need for French economic reform to his relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The French leader said he and his girlfriend wished to "break with a hateful tradition of hypocrisy" by making their relationship public.

"Carla and I have decided not to lie," he said, in what the French news agency AFP reports was a clear allusion to the late President Francois Mitterrand's concealment of an illegitimate daughter for years.