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François Hollande's press conference – a very French affair François Hollande's press conference – a very French affair
(35 minutes later)
They do things differently in France, of course, and never more so than at François Hollande's eagerly awaited press conference in the gilded surroundings of the Salle de Fetes at the Élysée Palace. They do things differently in France – of course, and never more so than at François Hollande's eagerly awaited press conference in the gilded surroundings of the Salle de Fetes at the Élysée Palace.
Faced with a packed room of 600 journalists, the beleaguered president succeeded in devoting almost the entirety of the three-hour event to his plans for reviving France's flagging economy, and perhaps three minutes to the questions most people wanted answered: where does his alleged affair with actress Julie Gayet leave France's first lady, Valérie Trierweiler, and how does he plan on resolving his tangled private life?Faced with a packed room of 600 journalists, the beleaguered president succeeded in devoting almost the entirety of the three-hour event to his plans for reviving France's flagging economy, and perhaps three minutes to the questions most people wanted answered: where does his alleged affair with actress Julie Gayet leave France's first lady, Valérie Trierweiler, and how does he plan on resolving his tangled private life?
Hollande set the tone for the proceedings by pointedly refusing, in a 20-minute opening speech, to refer to the matter.Hollande set the tone for the proceedings by pointedly refusing, in a 20-minute opening speech, to refer to the matter.
Asked in an exceeding roundabout way whether Trierweiler was still the first lady, Hollande .made clear his view that matters pertaining to his private life should be resolved in private, and said he would be taking no further questions on the subject (although he did promise to sort out his situation before his visit to Washington), and that was pretty much that. Asked in an exceedingly roundabout way whether Trierweiler was still the first lady, Hollande made clear his view that matters pertaining to his private life should be resolved in private, and said he would be taking no further questions on the subject (although he did promise to sort out his situation before his visit to Washington), and that was pretty much that.
There were one or two mild-mannered attempts to come at the question sideways, by asking about changes to France's strict privacy laws, for example, and a brave bid by the Associated Press to come at it head on ("Does the president's image matter?"). All received the same curt treatment.There were one or two mild-mannered attempts to come at the question sideways, by asking about changes to France's strict privacy laws, for example, and a brave bid by the Associated Press to come at it head on ("Does the president's image matter?"). All received the same curt treatment.
Would he have got away with this in Britain or America? Might Jeremy Paxman – who famously asked the same question 12 times – or John Humphrys or Jonathan Oliver, the former Mail on Sunday reporter who asked Tony Blair, following the suicide of David Kelly: "Have you got blood on your hands, prime minister?" have refused to toe the line? Possibly not. But, outraged tweets by Anglo-Saxon hacks notwithstanding, this was France. Would he get away with this in Britain or America? Might Jeremy Paxman – who famously asked the same question 12 times – or Jonathan Oliver, the former Mail on Sunday reporter who asked Tony Blair, following the suicide of David Kelly: "Have you got blood on your hands, prime minister?" have refused to toe the line? Possibly not. But, outraged tweets by Anglo-Saxon hacks notwithstanding, this was France.
It's not so much that French journalists don't do their job: there are many excellent French political journalists, who deliver many excellent scoops (although private lives, think Dominique Strauss-Kahn, are always off-limits). But there is a certain undeniable deference to the president, the living embodiment of the republic. In that respect, it's a bit like quizzing the Queen. One is invited to an audience with the president, and journalists' questions during rare presidential interviews – such as his annual Bastille Day TV appearance to be lightly interrogated by three senior hacks – are rarely more than friendly prompts for him to make whatever point he wishes. It's not so much that French journalists don't do their job: there are many excellent French political journalists, who deliver many excellent scoops (although private lives, think Dominique Strauss-Kahn, are always off-limits). But there is a certain undeniable deference to the president, the living embodiment of the republic. In that respect, it's a bit like quizzing the Queen. One is invited to an audience with the president and journalists' questions during rare presidential interviews – such as his annual Bastille Day TV appearance – are rarely more than friendly prompts for him to make whatever point he wishes. Once, when Patrick Poivre d'Arvor dared allude to one of Jacques Chirac's many financial scandals, the then president accused him, live on air, of gross impertinence. They do things differently in France.
Once, when Patrick Poivre d'Arvor dared allude to one of Jacques Chirac's many financial scandals, the then president accused him, live on air, of gross impertinence. They do things differently in France.
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