Paris: Francois Hollande’s personal protection is deeply “flawed”, top security sources have warned.
They claim one of the French president’s bodyguards is an alcoholic, another has psychological problems and a third fired a gun in the Elysee lavatories.
Agents inside Hollande’s presidential security service, GSPR, told Le Monde newspaper the president’s guards are physically unfit and such bad shots that they are too embarrassed even to go to the practice range.
“If tomorrow a gun goes off in the street, they won’t be able to respond appropriately,” one said.
Sophie Hatt, the head of the GSPR insisted that since his election “the president’s security has always been assured in a satisfactory manner”, saying GSPR agents are constantly tested and trained.
Members of her entourage point to gripes by “macho” individuals reluctant to take orders from a female boss. The main cause for security lapses is Hollande himself, the sources claimed, thanks to his desire to continue leading a “normal” life — such as sneaking out of the presidential palace incognito for secret trysts with Julie Gayet, his actress girlfriend.
One agent added: “[Jacques] Chirac wasn’t easy, but with Hollande it’s a shambles.”
— The Daily Telegraph
