France's President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) with his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy on a four-day official day to India.
Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have named their baby girl Giulia. REUTERS

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has announced the name of her baby girl.

Giulia Sarkozy was born on Wednesday night, weighing in at seven and a half pounds, to proud parents, French president Nicolas Sarkozy and first lady Bruni-Sarkozy.

On Thursday, the first lady shared a special message on her Web site:

I am deeply touched by the many messages of congratulations that I have received since the birth of our daughter Giulia. On this happy occasion, my husband joins me in expressing our warmest thanks to all those of you who sent us these tokens of your kindness, she wrote.

Bruni-Sarkozy, 43, went into labor on Wednesday night at the Clinique de la Muette maternity clinic in Paris. The president was on hand for the birth of his child, and stayed with his wife for 30 minutes before leaving again to attend to state affairs.

Sarkozy, 56, greeted factory workers in western France on Thursday, as the crowd congratulated the president on his new bundle of joy. An oak tree - the national tree of France - was also presented to the beaming new father.

Giulia Sarkozy joins four other siblings - three brothers from her father's previous marriages and a 10-year-old brother from her mother's previous relationship.

The new baby girl is the first to be born to a French presidential couple in office since the days of Napoleon.

In recent months, Bruni-Sarkozy has been quite vocal about protecting the privacy of her family, especially her children and new baby.

According to the French daily newspaper Le Parisien, the first lady has already hired lawyers to issue a letter for all media to respect the privacy of her new baby.

I understand the media interest, and I don't see any inconvenient in it for myself or my husband, but when it concerns the children, it's not impossible . . . I will do everything to protect this infant, and I'll be absolutely rigorous. I will never show photos of this child. I will never expose this child, Bruni-Sarkozy told news program Sept A Huit in September.

A former singer and occasional actress, Bruni-Sarkozy has been married to the French president since 2008.

Earlier this year, the first lady had a small role in Woody Allen's film Midnight in Paris, playing a museum guide.