PARIS (AFP) - Carla Bruni said she will not accompany French President Nicolas Sarkozy on a state visit to India this week and quashed rumours that they had secretly married, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
"I cannot take part in an official trip with the president," Bruni told the leftwing Liberation newspaper.
The Indian government had been awaiting word from the Elysee palace on whether the former supermodel would be part of the French delegation for the state visit on Friday and Saturday.
"We hadnt really planned it," the ex-model-turned-singer said of the India visit, adding that although the couple are not yet married "it is in our plans."
There had been speculation in the Indian media about whether a marriage would be announced during a private visit to the Taj Mahal.
But Bruni told Liberation she was preparing to record a new album in February and would have to stay in Paris.
"Also for health reasons, its not good," she said of the long trip.
Liberation said the list of delegates taking part in the visit had not been finalised by Monday evening. Asked about the report, presidential spokesman David Martinon declined to comment.
LEst Republicain newspaper last week reported that Sarkozy and Bruni may have married during a small, private ceremony held at the Elysee this month.
Sarkozy, 52, told a news conference this month that his relationship with Bruni was "serious" but said the media would learn about any marriage after the fact.
In October, Sarkozy became the first French president to divorce while in office when he ended his stormy 11-year marriage to his second wife Cecilia.
Sarkozy met Bruni in November and the couple have since travelled to Egypt and Jordan on vacation together.
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