Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, France's former first lady, will release a new album entitled Little French Songs in the spring, the singer-songwriter's agent said on Tuesday. The record, whose title track pays hommage to France's great songwriters, is "practically finished", Bertrand de Labbey told RTL radio. It will be her first album since 2008, when she married France's then president Nicolas Sarkozy, who lost his bid for re-election last year.

De Labbey said that while the former model lived at the Elysee palace, she "suffered from not being able to do her job". "But she made a choice. She chose a man she loves and she is happy with him," he added. 

The new album by Bruni-Sarkozy, who writes her own lyrics and often also composes the music, will be her fourth.

Her last record, Comme Si De Rien N'Etait (Simply), came out in July of 2008. Its royalties went to the Fondation de France charity.