Restarting her music career, France's former first lady Carla Bruni has switched labels for her new album, Little French Songs, due in April.

Bruni has moved from the independent Naive Records label to the Barclay logo, a property of the multinational record company Universal Music.

Ten years after recording her first hit disc (Quelqu'un m'a dit), the wife of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is leaving the independent label "in a friendly way", the Challenges website reported.

"As with fashion houses, she is capable of collaborating equally well with small firms and multinationals," the website said.

The 45-year-old Bruni has signed with a label that is home to such names as U2, Queen, Bjork, Amy Winehouse, Jacques Brel, Bob Marley, Fela Kuti and Henri Salvador.