Carla Bruni Pregnant: Reports

Maybe this will boost Nicolas Sarkozy's reelection chances: Wife Carla Bruni is reportedly pregnant. Though such a rumor has emerged before (three times in as many years, one French newspaper notes), this report appears to be more credible than previous ones. The Daily Mail notes that the news appeared in French magazine Closer, which has falsely reported a Bruni pregnancy in the past—but that this time, other French papers, including Le Parisien and Le Figaro, repeated the claim.

Le Figaro is "particularly close to Mr. Sarkozy and would be unlikely to indulge in baseless speculation," the Mail adds. The child would be the couple's first together, although Bruni has one son and Sarkozy three sons from previous relationships. Closer reports that ministers have been asked not to mention the pregnancy, which is reportedly in its early weeks. "We would not have revealed this information without being completely certain about it," says a Closer journalist, who adds, "this is a risky pregnancy bearing in mind that she is 43." (More Carla Bruni stories.)