Carla Bruni, wife of French president Nicholas Sarkozy, has “cancelled plans to appear on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival amid rumours she is pregnant with twins,” the Mirror is reporting.

Allen’s “Paris” marks Bruni’s acting debut, though she made her name as a supermodel before marrying Sarkozy. As the Mirror notes, Bruni “had been expected to draw huge crowds at the event.” Instead, the press will have to settle for Marion Cotillard, Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams.

via Carla Bruni Woody Allen Marion Cotillard Owen Wilson Cannes | HollywoodNews.com.

By Sean O’Connell

While most Parisians prefer to celebrate New Year’s in more intimate house party settings, here are a few fun (albeit touristy) ideas to bring in 2011!

Check out this site and book your tickets directly: 20 Idées de Nouvel An à Paris : Soirées de Réveillon du 31 décembre à réserver – Mes Tickets.

She battled strikes, blockades, and blizzards, and last night rewarded her loyal fans by throwing prized Armani shoes into the audience at Bercy. After a rousing and much anticipated concert, Lady Gaga brought an end to the French leg of her MonsterBall tour.

The extra days spent in Paris awaiting stage time did not go unnoticed. As we reported earlier, Gaga took time out for some traditional French cuisine at Chez André, made a pit-stop at a local Bruce Field’s store to buy some cheap pants to cover her frigid derrière, all the while holed up in a cozy suite at the Hotel Park Hyatt near Place Vendome.

Tant pis for those with tickets to the Whitney Houston concert in Paris rescheduled for June 1st, 2010. RTL has just announced that the notorious diva will cancel this leg of her world tour altogether, as ticket sales slumped following the change of date. Blaming a respiratory infection for her disastrous world tour, it seems like something more substantial may be causing her problems…

In a glamourous end to elegant Haute Couture week, designers and models united for one night of partying and fundraising for the fight against AIDS.

Diner de la Môde is the annual bash that brings out the finest talent in fashion, and this year took place at the Pavilion d’Armenonville at the Bois de Boulogne. In attendance were such fashion doyens as Yohji Yamamoto, Ricardo Tisci (both featured above), Chrisian Lacroix, and Giambattista Valli. Supermodels and stars included Devon Aoki, Natalia Vodianova, Eva Herizigova, Dita von Teese, Diane Kruger, and French actress/Playboy centerfold Vahina Giocante. Oh, and Madame Catherine Deneuve.

The night was magical, and the dresses might have had something to do with it: Dita Von Teese looked ravishing in Lacroix haute, Eva Herizogova looked more like Helen of Troy than Diane Kruger in her Sophia Kokosalaki dress, and the eternal muse of the city, Carine Roitfeld, looked sultry in Christopher Kane.

The charity event raised nearly 1 million euros, and the auction included a black and white photo of Dita von Teese, and personally designed chairs by some of fashion’s biggest designers.

Men’s fashion week was the buzz of the town this past weekend, as the industry flocked to Paris to snap up the hot creations from designers like Kris von Assche, Hedi Slimane, and dozens of up-and-coming createurs. Two major men’s expositions– Tranoi and Rendez-vous, took place to showcase new collections from edgy designers like Surface to Air, Gaspard Yurkievich, and Xavier Brisoux.

Parties of mention around the city include last nights wild bash at the opulent Hotel Paiva (above) for Tranoi, where the night started with a presentation by Bernard Wilhelm, and was followed by entertainment by the Broken Hearts Club. What began as classy red carpet event ended like a frat party, and by 3am, the champagne needed restocking and bouncers were busy hauling out roudy partiers. “Literally an hour after the Veuve was brought out, the wheels fell off and everyone went crazy. I saw someone get rugby tackled on the dance floor. At that point the level was set for the night,” said Mic Eaton of up-and-coming label, Material Boy. “I’m rather tired today,” he added.

Other parties were held over the weekend at La Scala and Experimental Cocktail Club (which was THE private venue of the week, hosting everyone from Details magazine to the Rendez-Vous group).

Miss France and pageant organizers have reached a compromise decision following the photo scandal that surfaced last month (see previous article).

 Valérie Begue will keep her crown this year, but will not participate in any international contests, such as Miss Universe. Instead, Miss New Caledonia will fill in. 

Who is Miss New Caledonia? It’s Vahinerii Requillart (see above). Where is New Caledonia? It’s a French island in the Southwest pacific, where they don’t take scandalous digital photos, and still use the franc as currency!

This seems like a win for Miss France (the public was on her side anyway). Now with no pageants to rehearse for, she have lots of time to….

Paris ushered in 2008 last night with parties around the city, although the vibe according to officials was generally “calm,” with only 150 cars torched by vandals.

Today, smoke still billows out of the cafes on the Champs-Elysees as bleary-eyed tourists recuperate from the nighttime festivities. Looks like that new smoking ban is going to take some enforcement!

Forget those scandalous videos you’ve been downloading, and get over to the Bibliotheque Nationale this season for some eye-opening pornography. That’s right, porn in a national library!

The new exhibition is called “L’Enfer de la Bibliotheque; Eros au secret,” and showcases 170 years of meticulously collected pornographic material from France and the UK. (Some librarian has been having a lot of fun). Warning: this show is not for the faint of heart– some of the content is XXXX– and those under 16 are not allowed.

Think of it as a holiday gift from la Republique!

Check out this review for some dirty details.

“L’Enfer de la Bibliotheque, Eros aus secret”: open at the Bibliothèque Francois Mitterrand in the 13th arrondissement from 10am to 7pm on Tuesdays to Saturdays and from 1pm to 7pm on Sundays from tomorrow until 2 March. Entrance: 7 euros. Under 16s are banned.

Former Dior Homme maestro Hedi Slimane unveiled his new artistic venture this evening at Galerie Almine Rech in the Marais. The exhibition is called Perfect Strangers and showcases black and white photographs and light design by the famed couturier. Inspiration for the works came from a summer vacation to Spain, where he visited a rock festival called Benicassim.  Most of the photos are giant-scale images that follow the rock&roll motif– and one wall is covered in part of the concert’s stage.

The fashion industry herd flocked in around 7pm, and flashbulbs popped faster that champagne corks (actually, where was the champagne?!) when Editor-in-Chief of French Vogue, Carine Roitfeld, strolled in to view the work. Incredibly chic and clad in what looked like a golden brace/suspender belt, she cut the most elegant silhouette of the evening.

Hedi’s work is on display until January 5th.

Tue-Sat, 11am-7pm.

Galerie Almine Rech, 19 rue de Saintonge,

3rd. M°St-Sébastien-Froissart.

01.45.83.71.90.

www.hedislimane.com/

Lauren Conrad, star of the LA-based ‘reality’ show The Hills, was in Paris this weekend to attend the annual Bal des Debutantes at the Hotel Crillon. Wearing an elegant white gown with diamond accessories (we shall ignore the hideous Kabbalah bracelet), LC looked pretty in a safe, not-so-fashion-forward way… as if styled by Rachel Zoe.

LC also attended the Baccarat party, where she and another co-star (hey we don’t really watch the Hills over here), looked less than enthused.

Sofia Coppola and husband, musician Thomas Mars threw a party last night in the Marais in celebration of their first year of parenthood. Daughter, Romy Mars, turns 1 in a few days– and opted for a night of sleep instead of partying with her artsy parents.

The Paris-based couple invited around 40 close friends to join them at Le Scarron, a secluded, gay-friendly joint that has a sultry bar/club basement clad in baroque decor. The gathering was relaxed and low-key, and most party-goers wore jeans and flannel shirts; a few bore a striking resemblance to Jesus. Champagne was the drink of the night, and Sofia made the rounds showing a photo album full of baby photos.

Stopping in for a drink was actress Daryl Hannah, accompanied by two girlfriends. Daryl has had a busy year, with 5 films in production, including one based on the Song of Roland, starring John Malkovich, Peter O’Toole, and Saffron Burrows.  PetiteB sees a comeback in the works for the 46 year old beauty!

• Le Scarron, 3 Rue Geoffroy l’Angevin, 75004  Paris

Kanye West kicked off his European tour in Paris this weekend, and it was an emotional return to the stage after the sudden death of his mother. Dr. Donda West died last week at the age of 58 following complications from cosmetic surgery performed by an uncertified Los Angeles doctor.

At the end of the concert, Kanye began to dedicate the final song to his mother, but broke down in tears before completing the dedication. According to one concert-goer, “he just lost it.” Members of the band came out to help him off stage, where he took a 15 minute break and came back to finish with a rousing performance of “Stronger.”

The hip-hop artist canceled performances scheduled for today, and returned to the US where his mother will be buried on Tuesday. He then returns to Europe on Thursday to continue with the tour.

The Roberto Cavalli capsule collection for H&M hit stores this morning, and flocks of ostentatious fur-wearing ho’s set their alarm clocks early to make it to the store before stocks ran out.  As if women don’t look trashy enough in Cavalli’s normal collection, they now have the opportunity to look TRES trashy.

The collection is small and in limited quantities, which is a blessing because we all might become sick if we saw 20 girls in one day wearing the same leopard corset. Yes, if you bought everything in the collection (and a lot of women were loaded up), your closet would look like you returned from a big game hunt— complete with the crocodile Dundee black leather fringed vest (possibly the most hideous thing, and in the arms of nearly every woman there.) Your wardrobe would include: the leopard corset, leopard and zebra chiffon dresses, leopard tights, a gold flapper dress,  leopard jeans, leopard scarves, leopard bras/panties, leopard lined blazers…. you get the point.

So for those readers looking for a lucrative night on the Bois de Boulogne, swing by H&M today for your chance to make all your colleagues jealous.

Note: Reports from two saleswomen say the collection will be gone after the lunch hour. Ho la la, la la…………

Monaco was the epicenter of celeb spottings this weekend as the tiny principality hosted their annual World Music Awards.

The two most legendary stars in attendance were Patti LaBelle and Celine Dion, who both took home top honors. Other performers who took the stage included Avril Lavigne, Akon, Rihanna, and Mika– who won 4 awards including Male Entertainer of the Year — though he was too sick to sing the most appropriate song of the evening, “Grace Kelly.”

Julian McMahon of Nip/Tuck was the host of the evening, although Prince Albert snapped out of his narcoleptic daze and spoke to the audience as well.

Stars were dancing til dawn at Jimmy’z, the notoriously swank nightclub where a flute of champagne on New Year’s Eve will set you back 120 euros!