Sarkozy's wife too glamorous for statue

NOGENT-SUR-MARNE, France, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Critics of a plan to model a statue honoring Italian immigrants on an image of Carla Bruni-Sarkozy say the French first lady is too glamorous.

A figure resembling the wife of President Nicolas Sarkozy would be dressed as a 19th-century immigrant worker in a statue meant to commemorate the many Italian immigrants who settled in Nogent-sur-Marne, outside of Paris, Radio France Internationale reported Sunday.

Some argue Bruni-Sarkozy, who has had a career as a model and recording artist, is more glamorous than the women she was chosen to represent.

"It's an insult to the Italian feather-workers, to give them the face of a super-rich person," said Socialist councillor William Geib. "I've nothing against Carla Bruni-Sarkozy but she does not represent the world of work."

Nogent-sur-Marne Mayor Jacques Martin chose the president's wife as the model for the statue, which would cost more than $108,000, Le Parisien newspaper reported.