Carla Bruni-Sarkozy "stands by her man"

It was one of those Tammy Wynette moments; the former top model-cum singer, actress and one-term France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy appearing on RTL radio on Wednesday morning, close to tears and almost (but not quite) unable to speak.

The performance of what some might unfairly say to be true Oscar-nomination proportions came as Bruni-Sarkozy responded to a question about a  judge's decision last week to open a criminal investigation into her husband (the former president Nicolas Sarkozy just in case you were unaware) and whether there had been an "abuse of weakness" in his alleged "dealings" with the elderly L’Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.

Of course Bruni-Sarkozy was really on the show to promote her soon-to-be released album (April 1 - and that's no Fool) "Little French songs".

But the pain she "and the whole family" is suffering and her desire for the truth to be told are also doing the rounds in a series of virtual copy-and-paste interviews in some of the French national dailies.

"It is so unimaginable that this man could abuse the weakness of a woman who is the same age as his mother," said the singer in a faltering voice.

 "... I do not know what to say...it's unthinkable. "



Yes, it was a radio moment rich in emotion and one which perhaps brought a lump to the throat and made you want to reach for your hanky.

While Bruni-Sarkozy was struggling to put on a brave public face, her husband, who has vowed "to clear his name over the allegations", was out and about cracking jokes while on a visit to Belgium the very same day.

And any suggestion that this might be Bruni-Sarkozy demonstrating "thespian" qualities in an attempt to influence anyone and elicit sympathy (and sales) is just...well small-minded.

She's a woman in love (oh no, the cue for yet another song - go away Barbra, this is Tammy's gig).

TAMMY!

Anne Sinclair named France's Woman of the Year - really?

A poll carried out for Terrafemina, an online women's magazine, has named Anne Sinclair as France's Woman of the Year.

Sinclair was a "symbol of courage and tenacity in face of the legal difficulties of her husband," the magazine said in announcing the results of the poll carried out on its behalf by CSA (Conseils-Sondages-Analyses).

No kidding.

It would be hard for anyone tuned in to the news in the weeks following the arrest of her husband, former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of course, not to have been impressed by her stoicism (and money) as she "stood by her man".

But French Woman of the Year?

Certainly not as far as the Green's presidential candidate Eva Joly is concerned.

"I find it sad," Joly said in an interview on news channel i>Télé.

"It reflects a view of life and gender relations that's very, very old-fashioned," she continued.

"I find it quite shocking, unbelievable even, that her popularity can be greater than that of a prominent politician such as Christine Lagarde," she added.

Lagarde, France's former finance minister and DSK's successor at the IMF came second in the poll.

Deserved or just too much Tammy Wynette about the outcome? What do you think?

The poll was conducted by telephone on December 6/7.

A representative sample of 1,005 people aged 18 and over were asked to choose from a list of 10 names, two women they considered had made the biggest impact in 2011.

Here, in a screenshot from the survey, are the overall results.

screenshot from PDF file from CSA survey

You can download the full report in PDF format from the CSA website.