Over the past days, French president Nicolas Sarkozy and particularly his former supermodel wife Carla Bruni have been making the headlines again, after an interval in which their uber-hot relationship seemed to have finally cooled down enough to allow for at least some degree of normality. The renewed media interest had a double source – the French president’s crucial state visit to Britain and the (less to do with politics) fact that nude photos of his stunning wife once again made their way onto the Internet. However, much to the French president’s delight, it looks like his wife’s demeanor and demure behavior during the all-too-important British interlude won her the admiration of the British media and pretty much saved the day.

At the end of his visit to the UK, Sarkozy and his wife attended a banquet organized by the Lord Mayor of London, which was aimed to mark the end of the French president’s stay in Britain. For the occasion, Bruni gave up the demure, buttoned-up look she had displayed ever since she first stepped on British soil, and showed up in a stunning burgundy strapless dress that made the most of her tall, slim figure. Earlier in the day, during a press conference where such topics as immigration, nuclear power and defense were also breached, Sarkozy turned from high-powered statesman to doting husband and praised the understanding and appreciation displayed by the British regarding his beautiful but quite controversial spouse.

"I am proud that people have seen her for what she is. I think she has been an honor to our country, not simply because of the way she looks, but beyond that everyone understands and has seen a woman who has beliefs, sensitivity, who is a humane person. Those sensitivities, those beliefs, this humanity, are what contribute to Carla’s elegance," Sarkozy stated. And while the French president made it clear his stunning wife is not a topic to be trifled with, Bruni herself made her best not to disappoint her husband and cause a bigger stir with her choice of dress. She therefore donned a strapless dress but was careful to cover her bare shoulders with a patterned pashmina, which she took off to pose for the expecting photgraphers. All in all, it was a French triumph on British soil, and a welcomed break from the bad press Sarkozy and his wife have been getting for quite a while in their home land.