French First Lady Freaks Over Infidelity

The Penguin François Hollande

About a week ago, we saw how the unmarried socialist President of France François Hollande had been found to be philandering by his mistress of a decade Valérie Trierweiler.  Not such a big deal if you're unmarried, right, except that in France, First Lady is a quasi-official position with a budget and staff, leaving her a bit ambivalent about her position.

Now we get news that she (allegedly) threw a hissy fit in the Elysée Palace, trashed the joint, and broke some valuable art.

Smashes Up $3 Million of National Treasures at Élysée Palace

France’s first lady went on a “rampage,” smashing more than $3 million worth of national treasures at the Élysée Palace, when she learned President François Hollande was sneaking out for trysts with his secret lover, it was reported Thursday.

In her tantrum at the French president’s office, Valérie Trierweiler destroyed a Sèvres vase that belonged to Louis XVI, according to Closer magazine, which first reported his affair with actress Julie Gayet.

The French government office responsible for presidential furniture “categorically denied” the report.

Valerie Trierweiler

And we know that government officials who categorically deny things are always being straight with us, don't we?  Don't we, Mr. Clapper.

Meanwhile, French media offered conflicting accounts Thursday of whether Trierweiler, 48, had agreed to break it off with Hollande, 59.

Trierweiler’s lawyer told Le Figaro newspaper that the two are studying a “clarification” of their relationship.

“It’s very difficult for Valerie Trierweiler to remain calm under this media and political pressure.”

But Trierweiler has told friends she hasn’t given up and expects to be on Holland’s arm when he makes a state visit to the White House next month, Closer said.

Julie Gayet

It's amusing how people who get into power, however tangentially, somehow grow to think that they're entitled to it.

“Despite the ordeal of being cheated on, Valérie Trierweiler is ready to forgive the man who has shared her life for 10 years,” the mag said.

“Although her friends may describe her as hotheaded, she is also very single-minded,” it added. “She believes she has given up everything for François Hollande.”

Since the night of the reported “rampage,” Trierweiler has spent eight days in a Paris hospital recovering from “extreme exhaustion” and is now holed up at the luxurious La Lanterne presidential palace. She is “under the control” of Hollande’s administration at La Lanterne, Closer said.

"Under the control" of the government.  That sounds ominous.  Oh well, he's a socialist, so I presume she is to.  How does it feel to be property of the state, Val?

Meanwhile, Gayet, 41, had a private party with friends and relatives to celebrate her affair with Hollande being made public, Closer said.

She had kept a low profile after the scandal broke but on Tuesday stepped out with a couple of friends and was photographed walking on a Paris street. She has denied reports she is four months’ pregnant with Hollande’s child.

In his only comments on the scandal, the never-married Hollande vowed last week to choose between Gayet and Trierweiler before he was to arrive in DC Feb. 9.

But seriously, girls and boy, at this point France is nearly an Islamic republic, you might as well just go ahead and legalize polygamy (or at least polygyny).  When Henry VIII was having trouble with the church over divorce, he just made a new religion to make it legitimate.  See, a precedent!



Wombat-Socho has the mother of all Rule 5 links up at The Other McCain "Rule 5 Monday."