"Once their patience was strained, the French people were unforgiving in their condemnation of Sarkozy’s flashy style. He soon became known as “le Président Bling-Bling” in a country where good taste is sacred. “The national conversation changed to the price of watches,” Mano said. More than one person told me approvingly that Bruni has helped bring Sarkozy to his senses, citing the fact that she made him get rid of his big gold Rolex and replace it with a sleek Patek Philippe, and that he no longer creates a ruckus by jogging in the Bois de Boulogne, the public park on the western edge of Paris—not since it became clear that the French were horrified to see pictures of their president sweating." -- On Carla Bruni. From Vanity Fair.