[3 / 0 / ?]
Quoted By:
French president accused of affair
ALLEGED INFIDELITY: French magazine Closer said President Francois Hollande was having an affair with actress Julie Gayet
He threatens legal action against magazine over 'attack on his right to privacy'
A magazine reported yesterday that Mr Francois Hollande routinely rides a scooter to spend the night with an actress, an alleged affair that has created yet another headache for the unpopular French President.
The allegations were accompanied by photos reportedly showing the President entering the flat of French actress Juile Gayet.
Mr Hollande, 59, who lives with his partner, Ms Valerie Trierweiler, a journalist, reacted furiously to the allegation, but did not deny it, and he threatened legal action over what he called an attack on his right to privacy.
Closer's Friday edition carried a seven-page spread on the President's alleged infidelity under the headline, Francois Hollande And Julie Gayet - The President's Secret Love.
"It's a real passion that has...turned their lives upside down and makes them take insane risks," the magazine wrote.
To back up its claims, the magazine printed photos of Ms Gayet, 41, arriving at a flat in an upmarket part of Paris on Dec 30, not far from the Elysee palace where Mr Hollande lives.
Half an hour later, a man whom they identifed as Mr Hollande's bodyguard inspects the hallway of the apartment block before the arrival of a scooter with two helmeted men on board, one of whom they say is Mr Hollande, although his face is never revealed.
But the bodyguard does show his face and is identified as part of Mr Hollande's official security detail, AFP reported.
The next morning, the bodyguard delivers croissants to the couple, Closer reported.
HELMETED MAN
Three hours later, a helmeted man is pictured mounting a chauffeur-driven scooter.
In a statement to AFP, Mr Hollande slammed the report as an attack on the right to privacy, to which he "like every other citizen has a right".
He said he was "looking into possible action, including legal action", against the weekly magazine.
Rumours that Mr Hollande is having an affair with Ms Gayet have swirled for months. Ms Gayet, a mother of two, is separated from Argentinian film-maker Santiago Amigorena.
Mr Hollande left his previous partner, and the mother of his four children, fellow Socialist politician Segolene Royal, in 2007 for Ms Trierweiler. Ms Trierweiler, whom Mr Hollande described as "the love of my life" in 2010, is referred to in the US media as "the first girlfriend".
Ms Gayet, an established television and film actress, appeared in one of Mr Hollande's 2012 election campaign commercials, in which she described the then candidate as "marvellous" but also "humble and a really good listener".
If confirmed, Mr Hollande's alleged affair would perpetuate a long French tradition of philandering presidents and senior politicians.
Former president Jacques Chirac is believed to have had many extramarital conquests, as did his predecessor Francois Mitterrand, who even had a daughter with his mistress.
ALLEGED INFIDELITY: French magazine Closer said President Francois Hollande was having an affair with actress Julie Gayet
He threatens legal action against magazine over 'attack on his right to privacy'
A magazine reported yesterday that Mr Francois Hollande routinely rides a scooter to spend the night with an actress, an alleged affair that has created yet another headache for the unpopular French President.
The allegations were accompanied by photos reportedly showing the President entering the flat of French actress Juile Gayet.
Mr Hollande, 59, who lives with his partner, Ms Valerie Trierweiler, a journalist, reacted furiously to the allegation, but did not deny it, and he threatened legal action over what he called an attack on his right to privacy.
Closer's Friday edition carried a seven-page spread on the President's alleged infidelity under the headline, Francois Hollande And Julie Gayet - The President's Secret Love.
"It's a real passion that has...turned their lives upside down and makes them take insane risks," the magazine wrote.
To back up its claims, the magazine printed photos of Ms Gayet, 41, arriving at a flat in an upmarket part of Paris on Dec 30, not far from the Elysee palace where Mr Hollande lives.
Half an hour later, a man whom they identifed as Mr Hollande's bodyguard inspects the hallway of the apartment block before the arrival of a scooter with two helmeted men on board, one of whom they say is Mr Hollande, although his face is never revealed.
But the bodyguard does show his face and is identified as part of Mr Hollande's official security detail, AFP reported.
The next morning, the bodyguard delivers croissants to the couple, Closer reported.
HELMETED MAN
Three hours later, a helmeted man is pictured mounting a chauffeur-driven scooter.
In a statement to AFP, Mr Hollande slammed the report as an attack on the right to privacy, to which he "like every other citizen has a right".
He said he was "looking into possible action, including legal action", against the weekly magazine.
Rumours that Mr Hollande is having an affair with Ms Gayet have swirled for months. Ms Gayet, a mother of two, is separated from Argentinian film-maker Santiago Amigorena.
Mr Hollande left his previous partner, and the mother of his four children, fellow Socialist politician Segolene Royal, in 2007 for Ms Trierweiler. Ms Trierweiler, whom Mr Hollande described as "the love of my life" in 2010, is referred to in the US media as "the first girlfriend".
Ms Gayet, an established television and film actress, appeared in one of Mr Hollande's 2012 election campaign commercials, in which she described the then candidate as "marvellous" but also "humble and a really good listener".
If confirmed, Mr Hollande's alleged affair would perpetuate a long French tradition of philandering presidents and senior politicians.
Former president Jacques Chirac is believed to have had many extramarital conquests, as did his predecessor Francois Mitterrand, who even had a daughter with his mistress.
