French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Tuesday his relationship with Italian singer and former model Carla Bruni was serious but he dodged giving a wedding date.

Sarkozy (52), was asked at a news conference about his romance with Bruni after the Journal du Dimanche (JDD) newspaper reported on Sunday that the couple could wed on February 9.

France’s glossy magazines have devoted lavish picture spreads to the couple on holiday in Egypt and Jordan. Recent opinion polls, which have shown a drop in Sarkozy’s approval ratings, have suggested that the public may be tiring of the heavy publicity surrounding the relationship. A survey in the leftwing daily Liberation  showed 63 per cent people felt Sarkozy showed off his private life too much.