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Thomas Hollande, French president’s eldest son, has publicly attacked the country’s First Lady Valérie Trierweiler, accusing her of destroying the president’s election-winning “normal image”.
Thomas Hollande says he and his brothers and sisters have made it clear they no longer want to see their father’s partner, Valérie Trierweiler, after she helped destroy their mother Ségolène Royal’s political hopes with a jealous tweet.
Valérie Trierweiler, 47, used Twitter to express her support for the rival of François Hollande’s former partner Ségolène Royal days before France’s legislative elections last month.
Ségolène Royal, 58, went on to lose her parliamentary seat and saw her ambition to become the speaker of France’s Assemblée Nationale vanish with it.
In an interview with the news magazine Le Point, Thomas Hollande, 27, who was active behind the scenes in both his parents’ election campaigns, shatters any attempts by the Elysée Palace to paper over the domestic-turned-political spat.
“What I find reproachful about the tweet is that it put the private life into the public domain,” he told Le Point.
“It pained me on behalf of my father who absolutely detests anyone talking about his private life. It destroyed the normal image that he had constructed.”
Thomas Hollande, French president's eldest son, has publicly attacked the country's First Lady Valérie Trierweiler, accusing her of destroying the president's election-winning "normal image
During a long and bitter election campaign against Nicolas Sarkozy, 57, François Hollande, also 57, had presented himself as Monsieur Normal as a direct contrast to his predecessor’s flashy bling-bling image.
Valérie Trierweiler was portrayed as a more discreet and dignified alternative to the former first lady, supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, 44.
Thomas Hollande said his father was “stupefied” by the tweet, which was reportedly posted after his father and Valérie Trierweiler fell out over the president issuing an official message of support for Royal, who was standing for parliamentary in the coastal constituency of La Rochelle.
Shortly afterwards Valérie Trierweiler sent a message supporting SégolèneRoyal’s rival, Socialist party dissident Olivier Falorni, who went on to secure a convincing victory.
“I knew that she would do something one day, but not such a huge blow. It’s staggering,” said Thomas Hollande, one of the Hollande-Royal couple’s four children.
He said it was “only logical, no?” that he and his siblings no longer wished to have anything to do with Valérie Trierweiler, a journalist with Paris Match magazine, adding: “What matters is that relations with our father return to normal.”
Thomas Hollande, a lawyer, said he had a tête-à-tête dinner with his father who had asked him not to “add fuel to the fire” over the tweet, which caused a national scandal.
Le Point said the president was likely to refer to the tweet during the traditional 14 July Bastille Day speech, in which he is expected to clarify Valérie Trierwieler’s role.
The president’s son, however, had clearly ignored his father’s advice not to rake over the ashes of the row. Speaking of Valérie Trierweiler, he told Le Point the current situation was causing instability.
“Either she’s a journalist, or she has an office at the Elysée … and, above all, no more tweets,” he said.
He also said his mother had not abandoned her political ambitions, suggesting she could take up a government post.
“A minister? Why not, in a few months? In politics, one is never dead.”
Never far from Hollande’s side during the long election campaign, Valérie Trierweiler’s absence has been conspicuous since the offending tweet. On Monday François Hollande travelled to London to meet David Cameron and the Queen without his partner.
French commentators also pointed out that she had not accompanied the French leader to the G20 summit in Mexico. She is expected to be at François Hollande’s side during the official Bastille Day parade on Saturday on the Champs Elysées.
French police have carried out searches of the home and offices of former President Nicolas Sarkozy as part of a campaign financing probe.
A law firm in which Nicolas Sarkozy owns shares was also searched, reports say.
The investigation is related to allegations that Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential election campaign received illegal donations from France’s richest woman, Liliane Bettencourt.
Nicolas Sarkozy has previously denied all wrongdoing.
Tens of thousands of euros were allegedly funneled to Nicolas Sarkozy's campaign by Liliane Bettencourt's office
Nicolas Sarkozy is currently in Canada with his family, his lawyer Thierry Herzog told the AFP news agency.
In presidential elections in May, Nicolas Sarkozy lost to Socialist challenger Francois Hollande, and lost his immunity from prosecution in June.
Tens of thousands of euros were allegedly funneled to Nicolas Sarkozy’s campaign by Liliane Bettencourt’s office.
Individual campaign contributions in France are limited to 4,600 euros ($5,800).
Mary-Kate Olsen and her new boyfriend Olivier Sarkozy enjoyed a day out in New York with his young daughter last Thursday.
As Mary-Kate Olsen, 26 smoked cigarettes, the half brother of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, placed his arms around his two girls who appear to be the same height.
The daughter, whose name and age are unknown, is the child of the investment banker’s former wife Charlotte Bernard, whom he divorced in 2010.
As they strolled through New York’s trendy West Village neighborhood together, Mary-Kate Olsen chatted to the young brunette girl who seemed at ease in her company.
Mary-Kate Olsen kept her sunglasses on during the day and even into the evening before the group went for dinner in the West Village.
During dinner, she was spotted indulging in another cigarette as she sat on the footpath outside the restaurant.
Mary-Kate Olsen and her new boyfriend Olivier Sarkozy enjoyed a day out in New York with his young daughter last Thursday
Olivier Sarkozy, 42, was also spotted smoking a cigarette as he clung onto his daughter’s hand and kept his other arm on Mary-Kate Olsen’s shoulder.
Charlotte Bernard is not likely to be impressed by the outing as she spoke out about her disapproval over her ex-husband’s new relationship earlier this month.
Branding their union as “grotesque”, Charlotte Bernanrd told the National Enquirer that it was also “not right”.
An insider also told the National Enquirer: “Charlotte certainly won’t want her kids to be around Mary-Kate, who has a history of wild-partying and booze binges.”
Charlotte Bernard and Olivier Sarkozy also have a son together.
His name is unknown also however both children are said to attend one of New York’s most prestigious schools.
Mary Kate Olsen is 17 years her boyfriend’s junior but they are said to be “head over heels” after being spotted cuddling up to each other at Madison Square Gardens on April 25.
Charlotte Bernard – a children’s book author – married Olivier Sarkozy in 1997 and divorced him around 13 years later.
Olivier Sarkozy has previously been linked to actress Stella Schabnel, 29.
When the unlikely new couple was first snapped at the New York Knicks game at the end of April, he was seen stroking Mary-Kate Olsen’s hair and whispering in her ear.
They are also said to have enjoyed a break together in the Hamptons recently.
France is voting in a second round of parliamentary elections seen as crucial for President Francois Hollande’s reform agenda.
Socialist Francois Hollande, who was elected last month, is seeking a solid left-wing majority in the lower house.
He has promised to hire more public workers and to refocus EU fiscal efforts from austerity to “growth”.
Socialists and their left-wing allies won 46% in last Sunday’s first round, against 34% for the centre-right UMP.
Nationwide, the turnout was a modest 57%. France’s 46 million eligible voters are picking representatives for 577 seats in the National Assembly.
After the first round, 36 seats out of 577 were declared in constituencies where the winner got more than 50% of the vote. Socialists and their allies won 25 of those seats.
France is voting in a second round of parliamentary elections seen as crucial for President Francois Hollande's reform agenda
The French Senate is already under the control of the Socialists and their allies following elections in 2011.
The Socialist Party has concluded electoral pacts with the smaller Europe Ecology/The Greens (EELV) as well as the Radical Left party – with marginal candidates withdrawing from the second round in order not to split the left-wing vote in individual constituencies.
The vote is also seen as a key test for the anti-immigration National Front (FN), which took 13.6% in the first round.
The FN – which has no nationally elected representative – is hoping to take a number of seats, notably for its leader Marine Le Pen in the northern town of Henin Beaumont.
Another closely watched race will be in La Rochelle in the west. Official Socialist candidate Segolene Royal – who is also Francois Hollande’s former partner – is standing against a dissident left-winger, Olivier Falorni, who defied the national leadership and maintained his candidacy.
In a well-publicized twist in the past week, Francois Hollande’s current partner, Valerie Trierweiler, expressed her support for Olivier Falorni in a tweet.
On the right, the UMP of former President Nicolas Sarkozy has concluded an electoral agreement with its centrist Radical Party and New Centre allies.
The start of Francois Hollande’s term has been dominated by the eurozone crisis. In his month since taking office, he has taken part in a series of summits urging his EU partners to engage in stimulus spending and to consider eurobonds.
His government is due to present a revised budget plan to parliament next month.
Francois Hollande is set to be sworn in as French president, before travelling to Berlin to discuss the future of the eurozone with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
He will be the first Socialist leader since 1995 to occupy the Elysee Palace.
Francois Hollande will later try to “find a compromise” with Angela Merkel over the German-led focus on austerity as the way out of Europe’s economic crisis.
On Monday, the value of stock markets and the euro fell amid continuing political uncertainty in Greece.
The chairman of the eurozone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, insisted on Monday night that they would do “everything possible” to keep Greece in the euro.
Jean-Claude Juncker said he looked forward to the swift formation of a new Greek government, nine days after the general election.
But he also warned that Greece had to continue the “significant efforts” already made to restructure its economy despite these policies having been rejected by a majority of voters.
Francois Hollande is expected to be sworn in shortly after meeting outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace in central Paris at around 10:00.
The new leader has asked that the inauguration ceremony be kept as low-key as possible, and has invited just three dozen or so personal guests to join the 350 officials attending. Neither Francois Hollande’s children nor those of his partner, Valerie Trierweiler, will be there.
The ceremony will be followed by the traditional procession in an open-topped car along the Avenue des Champs-Elysees and the laying of the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier underneath the Arc de Triomphe.
Francois Hollande will then pay tribute to the 19th-Century educational reformer Jules Ferry and the Nobel Prize-winning chemist Marie Curie.
Francois Hollande is set to be sworn in as French president, before travelling to Berlin to discuss the future of the eurozone with Chancellor Angela Merkel
His first lunch as president will be with the former Socialist prime ministers Pierre Mauroy, Laurent Fabius, Michel Rocard, Edith Cresson and Lionel Jospin.
Francois Hollande, 57, has spent the past week preparing to take up the presidency, and now the work begins in earnest.
His first job is to name a new prime minister, who our correspondent says will most likely be Jean-Marc Ayrault, leader of the Socialist group in parliament, a German speaker and a close ally.
Michel Sapin, a key economic adviser to Francois Hollande, is tipped to be finance minister.
On Tuesday afternoon, Francois Hollande will fly to Germany for dinner with Chancellor Angela Merkel, who says she will welcome the new leader “with open arms”.
But her embrace will hide some embarrassment after Angel Merkel openly supported Nicolas Sarkozy in the election battle.
“We don’t think the same on everything,” Francois Hollande acknowledged on French television on Monday.
“We’ll tell each other that so that together we can reach good compromises.”
Francois Hollande has demanded that a European fiscal pact that cracked down on overspending be renegotiated to include a greater emphasis on measures to stimulate growth, while Germany insists the treaty must be respected.
Whatever their differences, the crisis in the eurozone will put them under huge pressure to compromise, our correspondent says.
As the eurozone’s two biggest economies – and biggest contributors to its bailout funds – Germany and France are key decision-makers over the strategy supposed to pull Europe out of crisis.
According to official figures released on Tuesday morning, the French economy showed no growth in the first quarter of 2012. Growth in the final quarter of 2011 was also revised down to 0.1% from 0.2%.
However, Germany’s economy grew by a stronger than expected 0.5% in the first three months of the year.
Following his German trip, Francois Hollande will hold his first cabinet meeting on Thursday followed by a visit to Washington to meet US President Barack Obama on Friday.
• 08:00-08:30 Francois Hollande arrives at the Elysee Palace and meets Nicolas Sarkozy
• 08:30-09:30 Inauguration ceremony followed by procession up the Champs-Elysees
• 09:45 Francois Hollande lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, under the Arc de Triomphe
• 11:45 Francois Hollande pays tribute to Jules Ferry in the Jardin des Tuileries
• 12:30 Francois Hollande honours Marie Curie at the Curie Institute
• 13:00 Ceremony at the Hotel de Ville with Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe
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