British men have something special that sets them apart from their European counterparts, according to Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the French first lady – their love of dressing up in women’s clothes.

She added that she liked British men because “they accept their femininity”. Rather than expressing a long-held continental view that many Britons were repressed homosexuals, the wife of Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, pointed to our theatrical tradition.

“I adore Monty Python,” she said in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Times Magazine. “I adore this thing that comes from the theatre of centuries ago, of Shakespeare, where the roles of women were all played by men.”

The idea of dressing up as a woman was great fun, she added.

“A Frenchman or an Italian would never do this,” said the Italian-born Bruni, who has taken French nationality since marrying Sarkozy at the Elysée Palace in February.

The former model turned singer also praised “the impassibility of British men, their elegance”. She singled out Prince Philip for his attentiveness as a host during the couple’s state visit to Britain in March.

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