Impolitic tweet has France atwitter
Source: Agencies |
June 14, 2012, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
FRENCH President Francois Hollande's girlfriend has set the French political establishment aghast with a tweet seen as a dig against his ex-wife.
The tweet of support to Olivier Falorni, a politician in western France, was signed by Valerie Trierweiler and went viral and dominated news shows on Tuesday.
It was seen as a dig at Segolene Royal, the mother of Hollande's four children. Royal, also a former Socialist presidential candidate, is running against Falorni in the Charente-Maritime region in Sunday's parliamentary elections.
The tweet starts: "Have courage, Olivier Falorni." But it is easily interpreted as a not-so-veiled dig at Royal.
The Socialist Party recently banished Falorni for failing to step aside in favor of Royal, so he is running as a dissident candidate. After last Sunday's first-round vote, Royal holds a narrow lead over Falorni.
Trierweiler, a journalist and avid tweeter, has made no secret of her determination to retain her independence, or of her discomfort with the image and chores of a first lady. Her employer, Paris-Match, barred her from working as a political reporter after the May 6 election of Hollande, although it has allowed her to stay on as a book reviewer.
Her first review, published last week, was of a biography of Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of ex-US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and began: "Look at that! A journalist first lady isn't a novelty."
TV news coverage on Tuesday was dominated by the tweet, along with speculation about why Trierweiler would make such a bold foray into the political arena that risks bringing discredit to Hollande and is indirectly aimed at the woman who for decades was his companion.
Royal has said that if she wins Sunday's parliamentary election she would seek the role of speaker of the National Assembly, the lower house, guaranteeing almost daily contact with the president, and father of her four children.
The tweet of support to Olivier Falorni, a politician in western France, was signed by Valerie Trierweiler and went viral and dominated news shows on Tuesday.
It was seen as a dig at Segolene Royal, the mother of Hollande's four children. Royal, also a former Socialist presidential candidate, is running against Falorni in the Charente-Maritime region in Sunday's parliamentary elections.
The tweet starts: "Have courage, Olivier Falorni." But it is easily interpreted as a not-so-veiled dig at Royal.
The Socialist Party recently banished Falorni for failing to step aside in favor of Royal, so he is running as a dissident candidate. After last Sunday's first-round vote, Royal holds a narrow lead over Falorni.
Trierweiler, a journalist and avid tweeter, has made no secret of her determination to retain her independence, or of her discomfort with the image and chores of a first lady. Her employer, Paris-Match, barred her from working as a political reporter after the May 6 election of Hollande, although it has allowed her to stay on as a book reviewer.
Her first review, published last week, was of a biography of Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of ex-US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and began: "Look at that! A journalist first lady isn't a novelty."
TV news coverage on Tuesday was dominated by the tweet, along with speculation about why Trierweiler would make such a bold foray into the political arena that risks bringing discredit to Hollande and is indirectly aimed at the woman who for decades was his companion.
Royal has said that if she wins Sunday's parliamentary election she would seek the role of speaker of the National Assembly, the lower house, guaranteeing almost daily contact with the president, and father of her four children.
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