Francois Hollande affair ‘started two years ago’

Paris: The tumult surrounding Francois Hollande has grown with the publication of a string of further allegations concerning the French president’s personal life.

In a second ‘special edition’ that went on sale on Friday morning, Closer magazine claimed to have more allegations of the on-off relationship between Hollande and Julie Gayet, which it claims has lasted more than two years and has included weekends spent together in the south of France.

The magazine alleges that far from being simply a fling or a recent romance, the couple have been living an “eventful idyll” since 2011 shortly before Hollande’s campaign to be the Socialist party’s nomination for the presidential election the following year.

During the past few years, Closer claimed, the couple has endured “ruptures and reconciliations”.

Meanwhile, doctors have prevented Hollande, 59, visiting his partner, Valerie Trierweiler, in hospital, saying she is tired and needs a complete break.

But France’s first lady broke her silence to reveal that the president had sent her chocolates and flowers, according to radio reports.

Trierweiler was taken to hospital a week ago after Closer published revelations of Hollande’s alleged affair. On Thursday, RTL radio station claimed to have spoken to Trierweiler, who said she had not seen Hollande since last Friday but did not feel abandoned by him.

Doctors had said she needed a break and rest and advised that the president should stay away.

“Francois Hollande has not yet visited her in hospital, but Valerie Trierweiler doesn’t want people to think he is neglecting her at such a painful time,” RTL said. “She has let it be known that it is the doctors who have banned the head of state from coming to see her — a widespread practice in cases of psychological distress.”

RTL said Trierweiler was “temporarily confined and being kept at a distance from her entourage to give her space to get back on her feet. But Francois Hollande speaks to the care team and has met them personally.”

Trierweiler, 48, was said to be “very tired to the point of not being able to stand up”, and suffering from low blood pressure as well as low morale. “She hopes to leave with her head held high and shows a willingness to fight at least for her dignity.”

RTL said Trierweiler had let it be known that she had not had a “nervous breakdown” when Hollande confessed to his alleged affair with Gayet, 41, hours before Closer magazine published its claims that Hollande had been secretly leaving the Elysee Palace to meet the actor. Other newspapers and magazines claimed Trierweiler was determined to “stand by her man” and fight to save her relationship with Hollande.

Le Nouvel Observateur said she “has not the slightest intention of packing her bags”. “She’s okay to forgive, but not okay to leave,” it said.

In its second round of ‘exclusive’ revelations about the personal life of the French president, Closer reported on Friday that Hollande met Gayet at an informal gathering of friends and political allies in a Paris restaurant in 2011 after the actor supported the president’s former partner and mother of his four children, Segolene Royal in her unsuccessful battle against Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2007 presidential election. She had hoped to stand again but was beaten to the nomination in a vote of party members.

Closer claimed on Friday that the pair originally met at an apartment in Rue du Faubourg-Saint Honor, not far from the Elysee, where the actor has her film production company, but stopped meeting there because a concierge recognised them and tried to take, and sell, photographs.

The magazine also quotes a restaurant owner in Mougins, a picturesque village outside Cannes, where Hollande has a flat, who claims to remember the couple dining there, and reports that Gayet was seen with him in Tulle, his former parliamentary constituency. It also claims that she introduced the president to her grandmother and members of her family who live outside Paris.

After Hollande was elected president in May 2012, he celebrated with Trierweiler. A few months later the president and his so-called ‘first girlfriend’ spent part of the summer holiday at the official residence at the Fort de Breganon on the French Riviera.

It was, says Closer, to be the presidential couple’s last summer holiday together. In 2013, Trierweiler flew to Greece with two of her sons, while Hollande retreated to his constituency at Tulle in the Correze, where the magazine claims he and Gayet were seen walking together.

Gayet has launched a lawsuit against Closer for breach of privacy, claiming €50,000 (Dh249,340) in damages and publication of the legal award across half of the front page.

Her ex-husband Santiago Amigorena, with whom she has two sons, told Europe 1 radio: “Julie is very calm with all this and very sure of herself because nobody’s done anything wrong, nobody’s cheated on anyone.”