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| François Hollande's partner could make a reluctant French first lady | François Hollande's partner could make a reluctant French first lady |
| (10 days later) | |
| If François Hollande becomes president of France it will be a job he has worked for and hankered after for most of his adult life. | If François Hollande becomes president of France it will be a job he has worked for and hankered after for most of his adult life. |
| If his partner, Valérie Trierweiler, becomes "first lady" of France (in fact there is no such official position) it will be through amour not ambition. | If his partner, Valérie Trierweiler, becomes "first lady" of France (in fact there is no such official position) it will be through amour not ambition. |
| Trierweiler, a former television journalist and political reporter with the glossy magazine Paris Match, is no shrinking violet. Unlike the country's current leading lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, however, she has shown little inclination to step into the harsh, unforgiving glare of the political limelight. | Trierweiler, a former television journalist and political reporter with the glossy magazine Paris Match, is no shrinking violet. Unlike the country's current leading lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, however, she has shown little inclination to step into the harsh, unforgiving glare of the political limelight. |
| The woman Hollande describes as the "love of his life" has been present on the campaign trail over the past few weeks, but always behind him, or on the sidelines. Not a peep has been heard from her. The 46-year-old has refused interview requests and, like a glamorous poacher turned gamekeeper, phoned up her former bosses at Paris Match to complain furiously about being pictured on the front page and featured inside. | The woman Hollande describes as the "love of his life" has been present on the campaign trail over the past few weeks, but always behind him, or on the sidelines. Not a peep has been heard from her. The 46-year-old has refused interview requests and, like a glamorous poacher turned gamekeeper, phoned up her former bosses at Paris Match to complain furiously about being pictured on the front page and featured inside. |
| "What a shock to discover myself on page one of my own magazine. Angry to discover the use of photos without my agreement or even prior warning," she wrote on Twitter afterwards. | "What a shock to discover myself on page one of my own magazine. Angry to discover the use of photos without my agreement or even prior warning," she wrote on Twitter afterwards. |
| At a lunch with British and American journalists, Trierweiler sat at the very end of the table and blanched when asked a question. | At a lunch with British and American journalists, Trierweiler sat at the very end of the table and blanched when asked a question. |
| "They were not," journalists were sternly informed, "campaigning as a couple". | "They were not," journalists were sternly informed, "campaigning as a couple". |
| Trierweiler, a twice-divorced mother of three, was horrified at the headlines when it was announced she was to have her own office in Hollande's campaign headquarters. | Trierweiler, a twice-divorced mother of three, was horrified at the headlines when it was announced she was to have her own office in Hollande's campaign headquarters. |
| The couple met in 2005, a meeting she has described as a "coup de foudre" (a lightning strike). She reportedly fell "head over heels" in love with the chubby head of the Socialist party who at the time had a penchant for ill-fitting suits and heavy-rimmed glasses and was a master of witty one-liners. | The couple met in 2005, a meeting she has described as a "coup de foudre" (a lightning strike). She reportedly fell "head over heels" in love with the chubby head of the Socialist party who at the time had a penchant for ill-fitting suits and heavy-rimmed glasses and was a master of witty one-liners. |
| At the time Hollande was still with Ségolène Royal, the mother of his four children, who was geared up to become the party's presidential candidate in 2007. | At the time Hollande was still with Ségolène Royal, the mother of his four children, who was geared up to become the party's presidential candidate in 2007. |
| Hollande and Royal put on a show of unity for the election campaign five years ago – though Royal accused him of not being effusive enough in his support – but when she lost to Sarkozy he left to be with Trierweiler. | Hollande and Royal put on a show of unity for the election campaign five years ago – though Royal accused him of not being effusive enough in his support – but when she lost to Sarkozy he left to be with Trierweiler. |
| The couple made their relationship public in 2010. Afterwards, Trierweiler told Elle magazine that Hollande was "the man of my life". | The couple made their relationship public in 2010. Afterwards, Trierweiler told Elle magazine that Hollande was "the man of my life". |
| Although she was credited with persuading him to lose weight and smarten up, she said she had found him attractive as he was. | Although she was credited with persuading him to lose weight and smarten up, she said she had found him attractive as he was. |
| Trierweiler was born the fifth of six children in Angers, in the Loire valley. Her mother worked as a cashier at the local ice rink; her father, who lost a leg when he stepped on a landmine at the age of 13, died when she was 21. She studied at the Sorbonne and became a journalist. While working at Paris Match she entered into her second marriage, to fellow journalist Denis Trierweiler, with whom she has three children. They divorced after she met Hollande. | Trierweiler was born the fifth of six children in Angers, in the Loire valley. Her mother worked as a cashier at the local ice rink; her father, who lost a leg when he stepped on a landmine at the age of 13, died when she was 21. She studied at the Sorbonne and became a journalist. While working at Paris Match she entered into her second marriage, to fellow journalist Denis Trierweiler, with whom she has three children. They divorced after she met Hollande. |
| Former colleagues say she is "very punchy, very honest, intelligent and no nonsense". She is still remembered with admiration for slapping a male colleague who made a sexist comment. | Former colleagues say she is "very punchy, very honest, intelligent and no nonsense". She is still remembered with admiration for slapping a male colleague who made a sexist comment. |
| When Elle magazine commented on her "modest" upbringing she retorted: "I'm not Cinderella." | When Elle magazine commented on her "modest" upbringing she retorted: "I'm not Cinderella." |
| She is also said to be a stickler for detail. Trierweiler wrote to the editor of a magazine to demand a correction after an article suggested Hollande dyed his hair. | She is also said to be a stickler for detail. Trierweiler wrote to the editor of a magazine to demand a correction after an article suggested Hollande dyed his hair. |
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