French President Hollande parries personal question
Asked if he still regards his companion Valerie Trierweiller as France’s first lady, President Francois Holland told the massed press at the Elysee Tuesday: “Each and every one of us goes through difficult periods in his personal life, but I have one principle – private affairs are dealt with privately.” This was Hollande’s first press appearance since the publication of press photos purportedly showing the French president paying a nocturnal visit to a French actress. He summoned the media to present his program for reinvigorating the French economy. After parrying the first question on his reported affair, he confined his answers to the economy, only promising an answer before his Washington trip in a month’s time. Trierweiller is confined to hospital suffering from “extreme stress.”