By Stone Martindale Jan 6, 2008, 19:40 GMT
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is to marry his new girlfriend, the former model turned singer Carla Bruni, a French newspaper reported Sunday, claiming a wedding was "imminent".
French President Nicolas Sarkozy (r) with his new girlfriend, Italian singer and former model Carla Bruni (l) who carries her son on her shoulders during their tour of Petra, Jordan on 05 January 2008. Petra is one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. EPA/ROYAL PALACE/HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY
Citing several anonymous sources, the Journal du Dimanche said the couple, currently on a private visit to Jordan at the invitation of King Abdullah II, are believed to have set a wedding date for either February 8 or 9.
Sarkozy, 52, and Bruni, 39, were photographed on Saturday touring the rose-red city of Petra in southern Jordan, the president carrying Bruni's young son Aurelien on his shoulders.
Allegedly during a Christmas trip to Egypt, the recently-divorced president reportedly gave Bruni an engagement ring -- a pink diamond heart -- while Bruni gave him a luxury Swiss watch in grey steel.
Bruni, an heiress worth a fortune, lists former boyfriends like rock stars Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton.
The French president and his second wife Cecilia announced their divorce in October after 11 years of a tumultuous marriage. Sarkozy has a 10-year-old son with Cecilia, as well two grown sons from a previous marriage.
Bruni's mother Marisa Tedeschi Bruni was quoted in the Italian press last month saying the president had asked for her daughter's hand in marriage.
According to a CSA poll in Le Parisien, 48 percent of voters say they trust the president to tackle France's problems, compared to 55 percent last month. Forty-five percent said they did not trust him, compared to 38 a month before.
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