French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday he is going through "painful moments" in his personal life after a magazine report that he is having a secret affair with an actress. Hollande's partner, journalist Valerie Trierweiler, has been hospitalised since Friday, when Closer published photos it said proved Hollande's liaison with Julie Gayet. The report has heaped new pressure on the already unpopular Hollande.
He was asked at a major public appearance on Tuesday whether Trierweiler remains the first lady. In his first comments since the magazine report, Hollande responded: "Everyone in his or her personal life can go through ordeals, that's the case with us."
The latest revelations call into question whether a complex personal life can be private for someone with round-the-clock bodyguards, and about the role of "first lady" in France. Trierweiler is the first person to hold the post who was not married to the President. Hollande said he will clarify who the first lady is before he takes a presidential trip to the United States on February 11, but he wouldn't comment further.
The pictures published in Closer included one of a man the magazine said was Hollande being ferried by motorcycle to an apartment where Gayet waited.