Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and Michelle Obama do lunch at the White House

Sorry, just a file photo of Carla. If you managed to take a photo of the elusive Mrs. Sarkozy in D.C., let us know. (Jacques Witt/Reuters)

Monday's great photo-op that never happened: Michelle Obama and French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. The glamorous duo had a private lunch together in the White House while their husbands held a bilateral meeting, but the visit was kept very low-key in the wake of the Tucson shootings. "The last time that Nicolas and his lovely wife Carla were here we sent them to Ben's Chili Bowl," President Obama told reporters. "I can't say that half-smokes will be on the menu here at the White House -- the First Lady is having lunch with Carla while Nicolas and I have a working lunch -- but I hope you find the hospitality outstanding nevertheless." And since you asked: the two women get along just fine. In September, an unauthorized book about Bruni-Sarkozy claimed Michelle Obama complained that life in the White House was "hell." The White House, French embassy and Bruni-Sarkozy personally denied the rumor; everyone moved on and the friendship remains intact.