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François Hollande finally ties the knot at 67 amid rumours of second presidential run

François Hollande finally ties the knot at 67 amid rumours of second presidential run
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Wednesday, 08 June, 2022, 20:48

French President-elect François Hollande is not the marrying type.

But as he prepares to take office he will come under pressure to formalise his relationship with his partner Valerie Trierweiler.

The Socialist, elected on May 6, cohabited for 30 years with former partner Ségolène Royal, with whom he has four children.

The couple split after her own failed attempt for the presidency in 2007.

At the time it was revealed that Hollande had been living for a year with 47-year-old Trierweiler, a twice-divorced mother of three and a journalist at French society magazine Paris Match.

The fact that she is a journalist - who changed her beat from politics to culture to avoid any conflict of interest with her partner - is the least of Hollande’s worries.

In terms of international relations, some countries, notably conservative Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, could prove problematic to visit as a couple.

Protocol issues would also hamper Hollande in conservative societies such as India if Treirweiler were to accompany him on an official trip.

But perhaps the most intractable would be the Vatican, which would refuse to acknowledge a president’s unmarried companion, especially because she is already twice-divorced.

Not that any of this seems to bother Trierweiler.

“I’m not sure if it will come up that much,” she told AFP. “Maybe on a visit to the pope? Frankly, this is not something that worries me. This question of marriage is, above all, a private matter for us.”