프랑수아 올랑드 프랑스 대통령(59)이 여배우와 몰래 만나고 있다는 염문설이 제기됐다.
프랑스 연예 전문 주간지인 클로저는 10일(현지시간) 올랑드 대통령이 여배우 줄리 가예트(41)와 밀회를 즐기고 있다고 보도했다.
주간지는 올랑드 대통령이 오토바이를 타고 파리를 가로질러 가예트 집에 가서는 밤을 새우고 돌아오곤 한다고 전했다.
클로저는 올랑드 대통령으로 추정되는 헬멧을 쓴 남자가 지난달 30일에도 가예트 집을 찾았다고 주장했다.
주간지는 올랑드 대통령이 지난해 6월부터 가예트를 비밀리에 만나 왔다고 전했다.
이 주간지는 대통령이 오직 한 명의 경호원만 데리고 가예트 집으로 이동하는 사진들을 보여주면서 경호에 문제가 있을 수도 있다고 지적했다.
올랑드 대통령은 사실 관계를 부인하지 않은 채 "사생활을 침해당했다"면서 법적 대응을 검토하겠다고 밝혔다.
올랑드 대통령은 클로저 보도에 관해 이날 대통령이 아닌 개인 명의로 성명을 냈다.
가예트는 2012년 당시 올랑드 사회당 후보의 대선 광고에 출연한 이후 대통령과 연인 관계로 발전했다는 염문설에 시달려왔다.
가예트는 당시 선거 광고에서 올랑드 대통령을 "훌륭하고 겸손하며 남의 이야기를 잘 듣는 사람"이라고 묘사한 바 있다.
두 아이의 어머니이기도 한 가예트는 지금까지 영화 50여 편에 출연하며 프랑스에서 지성과 미모를 겸비한 여배우로 인정받아왔다.
클로저는 가예트의 요구에 따라 자사 홈페이지에서 관련 기사를 삭제하기로 했다고 밝혔다.
AFP통신은 클로저가 사생활 침해로 소송을 당할 것을 두려워해 기사를 삭제했을 것으로 분석했다.
프랑스 법에 따르면 사생활을 침해하는 보도에 대해 최대 징역 1년에 4만5천 유로(약 6천500만원)의 벌금이 부과된다.
올랑드 대통령은 30년간 함께 살아온 세골렌 루아얄과 헤어지고 나서 2010년부터 잡지사 기자 출신인 발레리 트리에르바일레와 동거 중이다.
올랑드 대통령의 동거녀인 트리에르바일레도 2000년대 초반 동료 기자와 결혼한 상태에서 당시 사회당 사무총장이었던 올랑드 대통령과 파트릭 드브쟝 전 장관을 동시에 깊게 사귀었다는 내용의 전기가 발간돼 '혼외정사' 논란에 휩싸인 바 있다.
대통령의 염문설에 대해 정치권과 시민 대부분은 대통령의 사생활일 뿐이라며 무관심한 반응을 보였다.
올랑드 대통령에 비판적인 국민전선(FN)의 마린 르펜 대표는 "세금이 하나도 들어가지 않았다면 모든 사람은 사생활을 존중받을 권리가 있다"고 대통령을 옹호했다.
역대 프랑스 지도자들도 정부를 둔 경우가 많았다.
프랑수아 미테랑 전 대통령은 숨겨둔 정부와 딸이 있었으며 니콜라 사르코지 전 대통령도 2007년 취임 직후 11년간 살아온 부인 세실리아와 이혼하고 오랫동안 관계를 맺어온 모델 카를라 브루니와 재혼했다. (연합뉴스)
<관련 영문 기사>
Magazine alleges French president having affair with actress
A magazine reported Friday that Francois Hollande routinely spends the night with an actress, a revelation that has created yet another headache for the unpopular French president.
Hollande reacted furiously to the allegation -- backed up by photos reportedly showing the president entering the flat of actress Julie Gayet -- but did not deny it. He threatened legal action over what he called an attack on his right to privacy.
"It's a real passion that has... turned their lives upside down and makes them take insane risks," Closer said in a special edition Friday detailing the 59-year-old president's alleged infidelity.
The seven-page spread printed photos of Gayet, 41, arriving at a flat in an upmarket part of Paris on December 30, not far from the Elysee palace where Hollande lives.
Half-an-hour later, a man whom it identifies as Hollande's bodyguard inspects the apartment block before the arrival of a scooter with two men on board, one of whom it says is Hollande -- although his face is fully concealed under a helmet.
The bodyguard, however, does show his face and is identified as part of Hollande's official security detail.
The next morning, according to Closer, the bodyguard delivers croissants to the couple, and three hours later, a helmeted man is pictured mounting a chauffeur-driven scooter and driving off. Gayet later leaves the flat too.
In a statement to AFP, Hollande slammed the report as an attack on the right to privacy, to which he "like every other citizen has a right".
He said he was "looking into possible action, including legal action" against the weekly magazine. But he did not deny the allegations.
Hollande officially lives with his partner, Valerie Trierweiler, a journalist for whom he left fellow Socialist politician Segolene Royal, the mother of his four children.
But the two are not married, and Trierweiler -- whom Hollande described as "the love of my life" in 2010 -- is referred to in American media as "the first girlfriend".
Gayet is an established television and film actress, and also appeared in one of Hollande's 2012 election campaign commercials, describing the then presidential candidate as "marvellous" and "humble and a really good listener".
Rumours the two were having an affair had until now stayed under the radar, with the mother-of-two -- who is separated from her husband, Argentinian filmmaker Santiago Amigorena -- filing a legal complaint in March over the speculation.
In December, though, a French actor, Stephane Guillon, made laughing innuendos on the subject during a talk show where he and Gayet were promoting a film in which they co-star.
Closer's publication director, Laurence Pieau, said the magazine decided to dig into the rumours after seeing Guillon's joking jibes, and after a serious news magazine, L'Express, last month mentioned -- without detailing -- Hollande's "secret escapades".
Confirmation that Gayet has an apartment near the Elysee and photos taken by the magazine over several days showing the president's bodyguard there, and then the man identified as the president himself, clinched it, Pieau told AFP.
"I know that we are talking about the truth, and we wouldn't have taken the risk to publish this news if we weren't sure of our information," she said.
"From the time we had the photos that verified the information, and what was rumour became news... we didn't hesitate" to publish the story, Pieau said.
"A little group of people were talking about it, laughing about it on TV sets. Our job is to let a large number of people know. That's what we're here for."
A blow to cherished French privacy
The alleged liaison comes at a time of deep unpopularity for Hollande, accused of being inefficient at a time of sky-high unemployment and general economic malaise in France.
A poll published Thursday showed that only 25 percent of those questioned said they trusted Hollande, who has become the most unpopular president in post-war France.
If confirmed, the relationship would perpetuate a long French tradition of philandering presidents.
Former president Jacques Chirac is believed to have had many extra-marital conquests, as did his predecessor Francois Mitterrand, who even had a daughter born to a mistress.
But much of this has been swept under the carpet as France's media is subject to strict laws on invasion of privacy, which can be punished with a year's jail and a fine of 45,000 euros ($61,000).
Closer told AFP the magazine had been ordered by Gayet's lawyer to remove all reference to the alleged relationship from its website, hinting at privacy issues.
Nevertheless, experts said the magazine's revelations were unprecedented.
"A few years ago, they would never have gone ahead with this. We're moving away from the French tradition of respecting private life and we're going towards the Anglo-Saxon system," said Delphine Meillet, a lawyer specialised in media law.
The French, however, are known for being tolerant of their leaders' infidelities.
On Friday, politicians from across the political spectrum supported Hollande in his right to keep his private life private.
And according to Patrick Eveno, an expert on media history, what Hollande does in the bedroom will not have an impact on public opinion.
"It might even help where polls are concerned. People will focus less on his image as a quiet grandad and more on his image as a seducer." (AFP)
