You just gotta love the French. I mean, can you think of any other country in the world where the First Lady would be allowed to pose naked for a glossy magazine spread and not be lynched for it the following day? Kidding about the "lynched" part - but still, is this for real? That in fact was a rhetorical question as well, as it seems that in France, the roles and responsibilities of the First Lady are not as restrictive as they are in the States for instance, and between posh receptions at plush, upscale hotels entertaining influential foreign politicians, the president's wife still finds the time to strip for the April issue of GQ magazine.

Not that I'm complaining - I mean, she does look stunning and the shots are really good - but I had this old-fashioned notion that a First Lady wears knee-long skirts and divides her time between doing charity work, entertaining the wives of her husband's guests and smiling politely for the camera. Not Carla Bruni, though. I mean, of course there aren't too many heads of state out there that can brag about being married to a former supermodel and internationally successful singer, but on the other hand, there aren't many First Ladies (former supermodels or not) who look like her. I'm not sure, however, that her good looks also mean that she can spread her legs and flash her boobs for the whole world to see.

What I find amusing is the kind of image this naked photo spread is shaping for the French president and his mandate. Not only is Nicolas Sarkozy seen as a bit of a joke lately, now he is going to be forever labeled as "the French president who allowed his wife to pose naked". We all know the French have a rather more acute aesthetic sense and are less troubled by such tiny things as appearances and preconceptions. Either that, or the French First Lady really hates having to wear clothes and enjoys every given opportunity of taking them off. Judging by the way she looks, who could blame her?