Sacre Bleu
The former First Lady of France, Valerie Trierweiler, has just published a kiss and tell book about her relationship with Francois Hollande, but this could not have come at a worse time for the French President with his popularity at a record low of 13% and still heading in a southerly direction.
Now Ms Trierweiler was never officially the First Lady of France because the couple were never married, more boyfriend and girlfriend, but Ms Trieweiler still managed to cost French taxpayers €500,000 a year before President Francois Hollande was forced to sever their relationship after being caught having a tawdry affair with another woman.
Now Ms Trierweiler was never officially the First Lady of France because the couple were never married, more boyfriend and girlfriend, but Ms Trieweiler still managed to cost French taxpayers €500,000 a year before President Francois Hollande was forced to sever their relationship after being caught having a tawdry affair with another woman.
So much for the President's indiscretions being a completely private matter!
High life of Hollande’s first lady cost €500,000 a year
Costly: Valérie Trierweile Patrick Aventurier/ Getty Images
By Charles Bremner - The Times
François Hollande’s decision to end his relationship with Valérie Trierweiler has won praise from French state auditors for saving the taxpayer nearly half a million euros a year, in an illustration of the costs of the first lady on the public purse.
French state auditors noted that Mr Hollande’s administration had cut spending on the palace, staff and trips by 10 per cent last year compared with 2009 when Nicolas Sarkozy, who was nicknamed President Bling Bling, occupied the post, accompanied by his wife, Carla Bruni. Last year the palace operation cost €97 million, excluding food and drink.
The auditors pointed out that taxpayers would this year be largely spared the cost of the first lady, a journalist who pursued humanitarian causes from the palace. In 2013 Ms Trierweiler, 49, ran up bills of €481,900 (£381,000) on travel, official duties and a personal staff of five. The jobs had all been terminated since Ms Trierweiler left and Mr Hollande adopted a bachelor existence following the disclosure in January of a secret liaison with Julie Gayet, an actress.
In addition, four police officers were employed full-time to ensure Ms Trierweile’s security. They have since been reassigned.
The auditors, who choose areas of state spending for analysis, never subjected Mr Bruni’s costs to the same scrutiny. However, she employed eight staff and the auditors did report that €80,000 a month of state funds went to supporting her charity website in 2011 and 2012.
The disclosure of Ms Trierweiler’s costs drew no complaints from politicians or the media, which generally accept the spending of France’s monarchical presidency, but they stung Léonard, her son from her second marriage with Denis Trierweiler a journalist.
He fired off a jibe at Louis Sarkozy, the former president’s son with Cécilia Attias, his second wife. Mr Trierweiler, who attends a chef’s college and Mr Sarkozy, who goes to Valley Forge military high school in Pennsylvania and calls himself Sarko Junior, have been duelling via Twitter for weeks. “It is as if you asked @Sarko_Junior to account for the 600 billion euros debt run up by his father,” tweeted young Trierweiler.
Sarko Junior riposted with a copy of an article listing Ms Trierweiler’s costs. Her son hit back with an attack on Ms Attias, telling Sarko Junior: “My mother did not benefit from an Élysée Palace credit card for her personal spending.”
It was revealed soon after Ms Attias left Mr Sarkozy in 2007 that she had benefited from a presidential credit card for the five months that she lived with him in the palace.
Who's Who? (14 January 2014)
I said in a previous post that the ridiculous behaviour of the French President, Francois Hollande, reminded me more of Benny Hill that Lady Chatterley's Lover.
Then, lo and behold, I came across these photographs which prove my point beyond doubt, they're like two peas in a pod if you ask me.
Then, lo and behold, I came across these photographs which prove my point beyond doubt, they're like two peas in a pod if you ask me.
| Francois Hollande |
Benny HillVa Va Voom (13 January 2014)
This Peter Brookes cartoon from the Times gets to the heart of the French President's trouser problems which are laid bare, so to speak, in this following report from the BBC.
But the sorry saga is more like something out of an episode of Benny Hill than Lady Chattersley's Lover, if you ask me.
Hollande Gayet: Scandal and the French president
 This morning the French people were treated to dramatic pictures of their president, disguised by a black motorcycle helmet, being dropped off by scooter at the apartment of his alleged girlfriend. Photos had been taken from an apartment across the street. There were timings of his comings and goings. Even his secret service bodyguard was noted delivering the morning croissants. The magazine Closer has seven pages detailing the visits to the building in the affluent eighth arrondissement. The woman is Julie Gayet, a film actress and prominent supporter of Francois Hollande. She had gushed during the election campaign that "he was humble and a really good listener". The apartment is no more than 300m (984ft) from the Elysee Palace, but the need for secrecy involved the head of state putting on a helmet and riding on the back of a scooter. The president's office has reacted furiously. Francois Hollande, it is said, greatly deplores the invasion of his privacy, to which he has a right as any other French citizen. He is looking into the possibility of taking legal action. There was no denial of the story, however. Very few French politicians have commented. Those who have spoken only underline the right of every citizen to privacy. Later on Friday the managing editor of Closer, Laurence Pieau, said the magazine would remove from its website the feature about the Hollande-Gayet relationship, at the request of Julie Gayet's lawyers. No such request had been made concerning the print edition, she told AFP news agency,  Restrained reactionWhat was interesting, on a brief visit to the street with the apartment, was the absence of media. French channels are wary of pursuing this story, in a country with strict laws on privacy. But the visit underlined a cultural difference between French and British society. A similar story in London would have led to the apartment being surrounded by reporters and cameras. A quick canvassing of street opinion was met by shrugs and the belief that the president was entitled to do what he likes. The fact that the president has a live-in partner, Valerie Trierweiler, is regarded as a private matter. In recent months there has been speculation that his relationship with The First Girlfriend - as the Americans like to call her - has been under increasing strain. Whatever the French attachment to privacy, however, there is a further risk to the president's authority. He has the lowest ratings of any president during the Fifth Republic. Although France seems to have eked out some growth in the final quarter of 2013, the economy hovers close to recession. Unemployment - which the president asked to be judged by - remains stubbornly high at 11%. The country is often referred to as the Sick Man of Europe and other Europeans - in particular the Germans - say that France under Mr Hollande has failed to carry out meaningful reforms to restore its economy's competitiveness. He campaigned as "Mr Normal" and there will be some who say his presidency lacks purpose, ambition and direction. That is a criticism, however, that cannot be applied to his handling of foreign affairs, where he has been bold and unafraid of using military intervention. To be fair, Mr Hollande has changed some labour laws, making it easier to hire and fire workers and to reduce their pay and working hours during a downturn. But business leaders want a reduction in taxes and wholesale reform of welfare entitlements.Privacy debate During the election campaign there was some criticism of the bad blood between Segolene Royal - his former partner and mother of his four children - and his current girlfriend Valerie Trierweiler. Some questioned why the president had not sorted out his private life before arriving in the Elysee Palace. Some of that criticism will resurface. His critics used to refer to him as "Monsieur Flamby", a wobbly pudding. Some of those remarks may be dusted down, too. But the French have a history of presidents with complicated private lives. President Mitterrand - Mr Hollande's mentor - had a secret family. However much the French defend privacy, Closer magazine was sold out at many newsstands. It remains to be seen what the French really make of their president's lifestyle after hours. Next Tuesday he gives his New Year press conference. It will be interesting whether he is asked about his alleged affair but, perhaps more importantly, whether he can relaunch his troubled presidency with some bold economic reforms.
French privacy laws
Gavin Hewitt
BBC, Europe Editor
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