Carla Bruni

"What bothers me about ageing is the tiredness, feeling less physically strong. As for aesthetics, I preferred being twenty, but I feel sorry for the crazy battle against age. Besides, I had so many beautiful photos, beautiful moments when I was young, I used my body to the fullest. Obviously, I take care of myself, I'm careful, but more for my health."

"I feel as French as I do Italian. Today, my life is in France, but my heart, my roots and my culture belong equally to both countries, and I am proud to have dual nationality. My greatest joy, but also my greatest dilemma, would be if France and Italy met again in the World Cup final."

"Communication works like this: the image of a woman today is that her power is control, but it is a suggestion, it is like showing a beautiful photo."

"Image is the fracture of contemporaneity. Rereading the myth of Narcissus as an adult, you understand that he dies not because he loves his image, but because he prefers his image to himself. I am convinced that our individual relationship with our image is quickly established in childhood: what is this reflection for you? It is you. Do you accept yourself as you are? OK. But usually we are disappointed or vain, because we are divided: half of us are animals, half of us feel like God."

"She is not only beautiful, but she is intelligent, dynamic and sincere. Every time I saw her, she asked me how the Tibetan cause was going! Moreover, Nicolas Sarkozy is the only French president who met me face to face, perhaps thanks to Carla, who understands Tibetan spirituality."

"Royal. I don't really like him, but I will always vote for the left, as my parents have always done."

"We spent several days in South Carolina for a photo shoot. But Naomi Campbell and I always had lunch in our caravan, even though there was a good restaurant nearby. When I asked why, they told me that Naomi would never be allowed in because she was black. Seeing Obama win was therefore a source of immense joy."

"That was America in 1992! So Obama's arrival is obviously a source of immense joy. For me, for everyone who loves America. For all French people, including one whom I know quite well. I know how hopeful we all are, full of expectations. On the contrary, when I hear Silvio Berlusconi taking the event lightly and joking that Obama is “always tanned”, it strikes me as odd. You could put it down to humour... But often, I am very happy to have become French!"

"I was part of an artistic community. We were bohemians, we were left-wing, but at that time I was voting in Italy. I have never voted for the left in France, and I can tell you, I'm not about to start now. I don't really feel left-wing anymore. There have been certain events, certain comments, particularly following the Polanski-Mitterrand affair. I heard socialist leaders saying the same things as those from the National Front. That really shocked me.""

"First, I am a Sarkozy supporter. [...] I am an ultra-Sarkozy supporter. [...] I am no longer, at all, on the left."

"I am proud of my bottom. It is difficult for a white woman to achieve such perfection. And I find that the bottom is very important in contemporary sensuality. It is sexy and modern. And practical. Unlike large breasts, which are old-fashioned and uncomfortable."

"I am a materialist, I am not interested in ideals, and men who are too intense scare me."

"I can't stand discos: they are full of smoke and people jumping around and going there to pick someone up."

"I always calculate everything, everything I am I have studied at my desk. I control myself, always."

"Human beings cannot be faithful. I take what men believe to be their biological right and, if I feel like it, I go with someone else. I give him the image of fidelity, the same that I demand from him."

"I was fortunate enough to grow up healthy, in a privileged and artistic environment. I would like to be able to pass on some of this good fortune to those who have not been so lucky. The fight against AIDS is a cause I have supported for many years. The fashion world in which I worked was severely affected by this disease and mobilised from the outset."

"The unique position I find myself in thanks to my marriage gives me the opportunity to meet people I would never have met otherwise, to give a voice to those who do not have one, and to draw public attention to causes that are close to my heart. It is a unique opportunity that I do not want to pass up."

"My role attracts media attention. Attention that I hope to direct towards important causes, which unfortunately still attract little interest. I hope to draw the public's attention to those who fight exemplarily every day to improve the lives of others. The more visible their work is, the more it will be supported by the general public, and the more likely they will be to obtain the necessary means to continue and develop their activities."

"Sehr angenehm, der Sex. Es ist einer der Vorteile des Älterwerdens: er wird besser. Sinnlichkeit und Begierde nehmen zu."

"Ich bin von Zeit zu Zeit monogam, aber ich ziehe die Polygamie vor. Die Liebe dauert lange, aber die brennende Lust nur zwei bis drei Wochen."

"Das Paradies, das wären ein französischer Koch, ein britischer Polizist, ein deutscher Manager und ein italienischer Liebhaber. Die Hölle, das sind ein britischer Koch, ein deutscher Polizist, ein italienischer Manager und ein französischer Liebhaber."