I’ve been thinking about how it feels to be the President of France on entering a room and wondering how many of the men there have enjoyed the company of his wife.

Caesar’s wife was supposed to be above suspicion at a time when reputations mattered. Nowadays, things are different, it appears. For some reason President Sarkozy felt that he needed a wife who flaunted her assets. People who are strangers to her have even seen her nude photos in the papers and on the internet.

Carla’s latest venture is the release of a new album which sings about 30 lovers and hard drugs. Somehow, I doubt the bit about 30 lovers. As Maxwell Smart would say “Would you believe 30 plus?”

In all honesty, I don’t really care about her past as much as why a man who is in a such an exalted political position would think that Carla would enhance his reputation. Only a psychiatrist would dare to explain his need for a woman with a lively past.

On the other hand, former Presidents of France kept mistresses and even had second secret families. So, in a way, with Sarkozy it’s all out in the open and there is no usual hypocrisy about honour and purity where there’s none in the higher echelons of power. What you see is what you get. And that’s a refreshing change for the French.