President’s threat to sue over ‘affair’

Rumours have long circulated that Mr Hollande might have a lover. The magazine Closer published images yesterday showing a bodyguard and a helmeted man it says is Mr Hollande visiting the apartment of Julie Gayet, a moderately known French actress who appeared in a clip for his 2012 presidential campaign.

French media faces strict privacy laws, as well as a long-time tradition of ignoring the private lives of public figures. Former President Francois Mitterrand had a daughter with his lover that the French media knew about 
but never revealed, until the president himself appeared publicly with her coming out of a restaurant.

But the publication marked the latest incursion into the once-sacred private lives of French politicians. The tradition of keeping private lives private has been chipped away since Mr Hollande’s predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy divorced his wife and remarried model and singer Carla Bruni, with whom he had been having an affair.

Bloggers, tweeters and other online sources have tapped into public curiosity and pushed the borders of French privacy. Closer last made a splash when it published topless photos of the Duchess of Cambridge.

Mr Hollande said in a statement he “deeply deplores the attacks on respect for privacy, to which each citizen has a right”. He is weighing possible action, including via the courts, it said. He did not address the alleged affair.

He has never married. He had four children with politician Segolene Royal, and has been living in recent years with journalist Valerie Trierweiler, considered France’s first lady.