British newspapers on Saturday leapt on allegations that Francois Hollande is having an affair with an actress, splashing the story over the front pages and poking fun at the French president.
The story even made page one of the normally staid Financial Times as the British press described the claims as a "crisis" for Hollande, who is already struggling with unpopularity and economic woes.
Both The Times and the Financial Times ran editorials on the subject, in a measure of how big the story is across the English Channel.
Pictures of actress Julie Gayet dominated the front of at least three national newspapers, with the conservative Daily Telegraph showing her in a particularly low-cut, backless dress.
The Times ran with the headline 'Oui Mr President'. The actress, the scooter and an affair of state', referring to the report in Closer magazine which said that Hollande arrived at her flat on the back of a moped.
Its editorial strongly argued in favour of Closer magazine's publication of the allegation.
It said "the public interest is clear" both because of Hollande's position and also because of the security implications of his scooter travel.
Instead of suing Closer, it added, "he would be wiser to accept the indulgent verdict of the magazine's editor that 'he's a President who has a crush,' and get on with governing a country in dire need of decisive governance."
The Times also carried a spoof column pretending to be the president's diary for the week -- written in "Franglais", a mixture of French and English that is beloved of British satirists -- in which the fake Hollande says: "Je suis le sexy, dirty chien!" (I am a sexy, dirty dog).
It also features a joke cameo from German Chancellor Angela Merkel who tells him: "Du bist einen ludicrous slaphead."
The Financial Times, not normally given to running large colour pictures of actresses on its front page, featured a photo of Gayet in a sober black dress.
Its editorial was more charitable to Hollande than the Times's, saying that he should be allowed to "eat his croissants in peace" while he tackles France's problems -- and adding that he could not be called an adulterer because he had never been married.
The Telegraph ran the headline "French president's 'mistress'" over the picture of Gayet in a revealing red dress.
The newspaper said he was "facing a new crisis" and added for good measure: "Battling record unpopularity levels, the last thing the Socialist president needs is another scandal between the sheets."
Several newspapers referred to the fact that Closer had published topless pictures of Prince William's wife, Kate in 2012, but they said the circumstances were different.
Many of the British papers noted though that, as the Daily Telegraph put it, "affairs are nothing new in French presidential history".
They noted the extra-marital affairs of former presidents Jacques Chirac and Francois Mitterrand, who even had a daughter born to a mistress.
The left-leaning Guardian was sympathetic towards the socialist French president, reporting that Hollande had "enjoyed a rare moment of support and sympathy from across the political spectrum".
The paper, which has led calls to reform its raucous tabloid rivals in Britain, was largely responsible for exposing the phone-hacking scandal at Rupert Murdoch's now defunct News of the World.
It too noted that "presidential affairs are the rule rather than the exception in France".
The right-wing Daily Mail website meanwhile carried a string of partially naked pictures -- with strategically placed blacked out areas -- of Gayet in her "sexually charged screen roles."
But it also had an article on France's privacy laws entitled: "How the French elite keep public in the dark."
AFP
Sat Jan 11 2014
A combination of pictures shows French actress Julie Gayet at the 65th Cannes film festival in Cannes and France's President Francois Hollande at the Elysee presidential palace. --AFP PHOTO / VALERY HACHE / THOMAS SAMSON
WCK sambung misi bantuan di Gaza
Operasi itu disambung sebulan selepas tujuh pekerja badan amal itu terbunuh dalam serangan udara Israel.
Niaga AWANI: Jiwa SME: Permintaan daun moringa meningkat, jadi tumpuan luar negara
Berdasarkan laporan Vodus Market Research, sebuah firma penyelidikan dan analisis data pasaran dalam talian, kira-kira 71 peratus penduduk di negara ini mengambil suplemen pada 2021.
Nilai pasaran suplemen negara juga menunjukkan peningkatan ketara dalam tempoh 2014 hingga 2019, iaitu daripada RM2.07 bilion kepada RM3.1 bilion. Angka itu dijangka terus meningkat pada masa akan datang.
Nilai pasaran suplemen negara juga menunjukkan peningkatan ketara dalam tempoh 2014 hingga 2019, iaitu daripada RM2.07 bilion kepada RM3.1 bilion. Angka itu dijangka terus meningkat pada masa akan datang.
Niaga AWANI: FBM KLCI mencapai paras tertinggi walaupun ditengah cabaran Ringgit
Indeks FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI meningkat sebanyak 8.28% walaupun nilai matawang menurun sebanyak 3.79% berbanding dollar Amerika Syarikat (AS). Adakah trend ini akan berterusan sehingga bulan Mei akan datang? Kupasan lanjut bersama Ketua Penyelidikan dan Penasihat Kekayaan, Pengurus Portfolio, UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors, Mohd Sedek Jantan.
Niaga AWANI: Ringgit dijangka sekitar 4.77 berbanding dolar AS minggu ini
Pengarah Urusan SPI Asset Management Stephen Innes berkata ini bagaimanapun bergantung kepada reaksi pasaran bon global memandangkan ramai peniaga memberi tumpuan terhadap pelarasan oleh Rizab Persekutuan AS (Fed).
Mustapa Mohamed terima anugerah daripada kerajaan Jepun
Mustapa dianugerahi Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun daripada Kerajaan Jepun atas sumbangan beliau dalam hubungan Jepun-Malaysia.
Niaga AWANI: Bursa Malaysia dijangka diniagakan dalam jajaran kecil minggu ini
Naib Presiden Penyelidikan Ekuiti Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, Thong Pak Leng berkata beliau meramalkan paras sokongan segera pada 1,555, diikuti dengan 1,545.
Niaga AWANI: Cabaran jurang negara kaya dan membangun
Editor Astro AWANI, Najib Aroff menemu bual Mirek Dusek yang merupakan Pengarah Urusan, World Economic Forum (WEF) berkait fokus serta tumpuan Mesyuarat Khas WEF serta jurang negara kaya dan membangun.
AWANI Pagi: Sokongan & peluang pekerjaan untuk komuniti Autistik
Sempena sambutan Bulan Autisme Sedunia pada April, ikuti diskusi bersama Beatrice Leong, Autistik, Aktivis dan Pengasas Persatuan Kesejahteraan Autisme mengenai ekosistem sokongan untuk pekerjaan individu autistik di Malaysia.
Letupan bom Sungai Golok: Penduduk Rantau Panjang turut rasai gegaran
Selain letupan seorang saksi mendakwa turut mendengar insiden berbalas tembakan di kawasan berkenaan.
Niaga AWANI: FOMC Mei 2024 bermula esok, apakah jangkaan keputusan The Fed?
Pasaran kini menjangkakan kadar faedah akan dikekalkan pada mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Pasaran Terbuka Persekutuan (FOMC) seterusnya iaitu pada 1 Mei ini. Adakah ini akan menepati jangkaan pasaran? Perbincangan bersama Ketua Ekonomi, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid.