There was a noticeable no-show at the “first wives club” meeting in London—and at the G20 in general. France's Carla Bruni, perhaps the world’s most glamorous first lady, has skipped the summit altogether, the Daily Mail reports—a move largely seen as a snub of British PM Gordon Brown’s wife, Sarah, who has organized a full schedule for the visiting spouses.
“She has a great deal of her own work to do,” said a source close to the model-turned-singer who’s married to President Nicolas Sarkozy. French officials say Bruni’s absence is “normal,” since the G20 isn’t a state visit. But Paris gossipers believe she just didn’t want to share the spotlight with another glamorous first lady. “She knows Michelle will be the First Lady everybody is interested in,” one fashionista says of Mrs. Obama. “That’s one of the reasons she’s snubbed London.” (More Michelle Obama stories.)