French President François Hollande is denying a front page story that he’s having an affair with actress Julie Gayet, but some Parisians think he planted the story himself.
The Socialist has been living for years with journalist Valérie Trierweiler. But one resident in the City of Light told me, “We’ve been hearing about this a lot in the last year or so, quiet whispers.”
The French magazine Closer finally ran a seven-page photo exposé this week under the headline “L’Amour Secret du President.”
And some cheese-lovers think Hollande’s team purposefully planted the story to embarrass and rid themselves of Trierweiler.
The buzz in the French capital is that Hollande has been over Trierweiler for some time and that she won’t move out.
“She likes being first lady, even if most of France doesn’t like her or approve of her as first lady. After all, she’s only his girlfriend, not his wife,” said my source.
“There have been calls for her to not be allowed to travel on the government dime because they are not married.”
Hollande, 59, also never married former French presidential candidate Ségolène Royal, with whom he has four children.
In a statement released to Agence France-Presse, Hollande “strongly deplores the attack on his private life which is his right, like that of all citizens.” Gayet, 41, had filed a legal complaint with the Paris prosecutor in March against Internet rumors on her alleged affair with Hollande.