Bruni walks back claim Michelle Obama thinks life as first lady is ‘hell’

What does Michelle Obama think about being first lady?

In a new biography, France's first lady, Carla Bruni, reportedly claims Obama told her that life in the White House is "hell."

"Don't ask! It's hell. I can't stand it!" Bruni says Obama replied when she asked her about life as the wife of the president. The conversation allegedly took place in March, when Bruni visited the White House with her husband, French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

First reported by London's Daily Mail, the account appears in a new book, "Carla and the Ambitious," which was reportedly written in cooperation with Bruni.

The White House had no comment.

UPDATE: Emmanuel Lenain, a spokesman for the French Embassy in Washington, tells CBS that, contrary to reports, the Bruni biography "was not authorized" and the words attributed to Obama were "never said." But pressed by ABC's Jake Tapper on whether Bruni helped write the book, as has been reported, Lenain replied, "I don't have all the details. I'll have to get back to you."

(Photo of Bruni and Obama by Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)