SUPERMODEL Linda Evangelista slapped her billionaire French baby daddy with a $46,000-a-month support request in the Manhattan Family Court - a figure so high it made the judge's jaw drop, the New York Post reports.

"That would probably be the largest support order in the history of the Family Court," noted Support Magistrate Matthew Troy in court Monday. He is expected to decide on an amount when the parties return to Family Court next month.

The demure but towering Evangelista, 46, is demanding the cash from Francois-Henri Pinault - CEO of the Paris-based luxury conglomerate that owns Gucci, Yves St. Laurent and Bottega Veneta - the father of her four-year-old boy, Augustin James.

Pinault is married to Salma Hayek, with whom he has another child - three-year-old Valentina.

While Pinault lavishes Valentina with luxuries - he even spends $50,000 a month for a $12 million Los Angeles estate held in trust in the girl's name - he has yet to give even a fraction of a franc to little Augie, complained the model's lawyer, William Beslow.

The majority of the monthly sum Evangelista is requesting would cover the round-the-clock nannies and gun-toting chauffeurs that are simply the due of any son of a single mum and an overseas billionaire, her lawyer argued. But Pinault, whose family is worth an estimated $11.5 billion, is fighting the expenditures tooth and nail.

During a lengthy deposition last Tuesday, Pinault's lawyer grilled her on just why she needs a team of heat-packing drivers who are former police detectives - at a cost of $175,000 a year. Evangelista also wants $80,000 a year for a nanny, Pinault lawyer David Aaronson complained to the judge.

"She testified that she wants to have a 24-hour nanny because she does not want to be alone with the child ... Miss Evangelista, you should understand, has a worth of more than $8 million, and she earned, last year, $1.8 million."

"How many hours a week do you work?" the judge asked the model at one point.

"On days when I do not work, I am working on my image," Evangelista answered, her voice soft, and tinged with defensiveness. "I have to hit the gym. I have beauty appointments. I have to work toward my next job and maintaining my image," she said, "just like an athlete."

Originally published as Model wants $46K-a-month child support