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France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is pregnant

By April MacIntyre Jul 15, 2011, 15:19 GMT

05/26/2011 - Nicolas Sarkozy - 2011 G8 Summit of Deauville - Press Conference - May 26, 2011 - La Touques Thoroughbred Racecourse - Deauville, France © Pixplanete / PR Photos

French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy confirmed her pregnancy with the Nice Matin newspaper.

The singer, actress and former super model described her pregnancy as an "unexpected and unhoped for happiness."

When she was asked if she was personally hurt by the attacks and critique where her husband is sometimes the object, Bruni-Sarkozy says, "It is always the case. The function creates necessarily criticism and aggression, it is not against my husband. But we can not choose this fate then without being criticized. The criticism is the essence of democracy...When elected, it is important to remain aware and sensitive, although it is sometimes difficult. This can then be regenerated, it gives the power to do great things."

When asked if she gave Sarkozy advice. Bruni-Sarkozy says, "He has so many consultants! My husband... is not enclosed in a bubble, does not create a desert around him. This is someone human, it is not remote. That's the big difference with other presidents: my husband is human, he feels people, and it infuriates a certain elite."

And will he run again in 2012? Bruni-Sarkozy says, "Yes, I want him [Sarkozy] for France."

Bruni-Sarkozy spoke about her cause, fighting illiteracy in France.  "Through my foundation, I found the numbers speak for themselves on the subject. Education is not a drug, but it is food for the soul. I want to make culture more accessible to all, bring a little something to all these people living in a precarious situation, lack of culture. This is a drop of water, but I discovered all the problems of people, I did not really realize this before being First Lady of France."

Bruni-Sarkozy spoke of her own upbringing. "... I stopped [school] after graduation, but I am from a family where the culture was omnipresent. I was not a model student, but I had access to everything. I wanted to travel, I felt free, but I had a big cultural bag."

Sarkozy has three children from his two previous marriages, to Marie-Dominique Culioli and Cecilia Ciganer-Albeniz.