As the first lady of France, Carla Bruni no doubt dreaded the reaction when she confessed to a racy past. 

But after she told her husband Nicholas Sarkozy about the nude pictures of her about to hit the headlines, the French president simply gave a Gallic shrug. And asked for a print of his favourite pose. 

His sangfroid would certainly have reassured Miss Bruni, whose risque portfolio of pictures raised eyebrows in certain quarters.

Getting in her stride: Carla Bruni-Sarkozy looks elegant in riding clothes

Nude: The photo which caused controversy for France's first lady when it was auctioned at Christie's in New York

In May, a black-and-white portrait of the Italian-born singer and model standing naked with her hands strategically placed to protect her modesty was sold for £45,500 at auction to an unnamed bidder in New York.

At the time, she claimed was deeply upset by the publication of the picture, taken in 1993, because it coincided with her state visit to Britain to meet the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

The photographer responsible for the picture, Michael Comte, revealed that he had taken hundreds of others of her during the ten-year period they worked together. 

Now 40-year-old Miss Bruni has revealed that she had warned Mr Sarkozy, 53, about the images before they became public.

'I never realised how many nude pictures I did before I met Nicolas,' she said in an interview with Vanity Fair. 

'I took him and said, "OK, now I need to show you, because I posed in the nude. But I never did sexy pictures - you must know that this is going to come out".'

She showed him a selection of poses, she said. One of them particularly took his fancy. 'He said, "Oh, I like this one! Can I have a print of it?'' '

Although Mr Comte says he has more graphic pictures of her, he insists he will keep them private. 

The publication of the 1993 portrait came at a time when Miss Bruni and Mr Sarkozy were accused in the French press of being more concerned with celebrity than politics.

Carla told Vanity Fair that Nicolas Sarkozy was not upset when he learned of all the nude photos she posed for in the past

They had a whirlwind romance and married in February just a few months after his divorce from second wife Cecilia had been finalised. 

He has been nicknamed 'President Bling Bling' for his flashy style, while Miss Bruni's long list of rock star lovers including Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton has drawn criticism-that her image is too racy to be taken seriously.

On the front of this month's Vanity Fair, she is fully clothed. The picture shows her reposing in riding gear in a stately home. 

Asked about her romantic past, she said in the interview: 'It's not that I had a lot of lovers. It's that I never hide them.'

Miss Bruni, who has a seven-year-old son from a previous relationship, also admitted that she struggled with the amount of attention focused on her now. 

She explained: 'When you are a songwriter and you say, "I like polyandry, ha, ha, ha," it is written down and it doesn't matter.

'But if you're a first lady and you say, "I like Coca-Cola Light", it is a drama.
'I have to pay attention to every detail, and that is very new for me.'

The full interview will appear in the September issue of Vanity Fair on Friday.