Trierweiler in hospital with 'the blues' over Hollande 'affair'
French president faces questions about First Lady's status following claims of alleged affair with actress
THE French First Lady Valerie Trierweiler has spent the weekend in hospital with a "severe case of the blues" following reports of President Francois Hollande's alleged affair.
France's Closer magazine claimed on Friday that Hollande had repeatedly spent the night at a Paris flat with 41-year-old actress Julie Gayet.
The Elysée Palace has since revealed that Trierweiler, 49, was taken to a Paris hospital after hearing the allegations and is expected to stay there until today. She is said to have gone into hospital to "get some rest and have some tests done".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Hollande, 59, has threatened to sue Closer magazine for breach of privacy but has not denied the affair.
"What began as a severe embarrassment for President Hollande is turning into a double, personal and political, crisis," says The Independent.
The president had planned to hold a press conference tomorrow to unveil details of a promised "acceleration" towards a more market-oriented economic policy. But this risks "falling flat on its face" unless Hollande can find a way to defuse "potentially explosive questions" about his alleged affair, says the newspaper.
Hollande will respond to such questions tomorrow "if he is asked", Elysée sources said.
As Trierweiler – sometimes dubbed France's "First Girlfriend" – is not married to Hollande, questions are likely to be asked about her status. The couple are due to visit Barack and Michelle Obama in Washington next month, but until Hollande chooses between his mistress and girlfriend any appearance of Trierweiler by his side "will appear hypocritical", a friend of the president told Le Monde.
Hollande left Ségolène Royal, the mother of his four children and fellow Socialist politician, in 2007 for Trierweiler, a journalist for the celebrity magazine Paris Match.
Royal yesterday refused to comment on the alleged affair, saying she did not want to fuel the debate on "a soap opera that is very far from the concerns of the French".
She told France 2 television: "We must turn the page and get back to work."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Nigeria's worsening rate of maternal mortality
Under the radar Economic crisis is making hospitals unaffordable, with women increasingly not receiving the care they need
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Elevating Earth Day into a national holiday is not radical — it's practical'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
UAW scores historic win in South at VW plant
Speed Read Volkswagen workers in Tennessee have voted to join the United Auto Workers union
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Myanmar: the Spring Revolution and the downfall of the generals
Talking Point An armed protest movement has swept across the country since the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi was overthrown in 2021
By The Week Staff Published
-
Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrike
Speed Read The attack comes after Iran's drone and missile barrage last weekend
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is there a peaceful way forward for Israel and Iran?
Today's Big Question Tehran has initially sought to downplay the latest Israeli missile strike on its territory
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of war
Speed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How powerful is Iran?
Today's big question Islamic republic is facing domestic dissent and 'economic peril' but has a vast military, dangerous allies and a nuclear threat
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US, Israel brace for Iran retaliatory strikes
Speed Read An Iranian attack on Israel is believed to be imminent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How green onions could swing South Korea's election
The Explainer Country's president has fallen foul of the oldest trick in the campaign book, not knowing the price of groceries
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Ukraine's battle to save Kharkiv from Putin's drones
The Explainer Country's second-largest city has been under almost daily attacks since February amid claims Russia wants to make it uninhabitable
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published