Is Carla Bruni Pregnant with her Second Child?

Speculation is rife across Europe that Carla Bruni is expecting her first child with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, reports PerthNow.

Claims the First Lady is pregnant have been reported in French magazine Closer and repeated in a number of British tabloid newspapers.

It comes four months after a trip to India where she told a Muslim cleric that she was “praying for a son” with Sarkozy, who has three children from earlier marriages.

The speculation also comes as the 43-year-old singer and former model, who married the French president in 2008 and has a nine-year-old son from a previous relationship, has not been seen in public for weeks.

According to the glossy magazines that chronicle her every blink, she might avoid the Cannes film festival next month because it could provoke criticism of a flashy first couple at a time when ordinary people are suffering the consequences of global recession.

A spokesperson for the French president has refused to confirm or deny the rumours.