French president Nicolas Sarkozy has taken time out to watch his wife making her acting debut in the latest Woody Allen film.

The supermodel-turned-singer has been pictured in Paris filming one of her scenes with the legendary American director.

She plays a small role in the comedy Midnight in Paris which also stars Owen Wilson and Oscar-winners Marion Cotillard and Kathy Bates.

Although she only had a simple scene to film, Allen, who is a notorious perfectionist, made France`s first lady undergo a series of retakes.

The 42-year-old, who plays a museum curator, had to walk in and out of a small grocery store with a baguette.

She had some support on hand, though.

Her husband, surrounded by bodyguards, was pictured watching her being put through her paces.

Bruni-Sarkozy has never acted in a big screen movie before and after accepting the offer admitted she was unsure about her acting skills.

"I`m not at all an actress. Maybe I`ll be absolutely terrible," she said in an interview with Canal Plus TV station.

However, she said she couldn`t pass up the chance to appear in a Woody Allen film.

"I`d like to - you know - when I`m a grandmother, to have done a Woody Allen film," she said.

"I cannot in my life miss an opportunity like this."

Bruni-Sarkozy had abandoned her official functions for the day to work with Allen.

She is expected to shoot another scene alongside French actress Cotillard before heading off on holiday to the south of France with Mr Sarkozy.
sections: Celebrities