Two Fran?ois Hollandes appeared before the world’s press today. One of them, the statesman and would-be saviour of France, refused to comment on the nocturnal escapades of the private man. He was allowed to get away with it, more or less, by the 600 journalists packed into the glittering Chambre de Fêtes of the Elysee Palace. It is difficult to imagine the leader of any other democratic country escaping so lightly.
据外媒报道，三角恋丑闻缠身的法国总统奥朗德，14日在爱丽舍宫举行记者会，公布经济改革方案详情。不过记者一开始便追问他与女友瓦莱丽及新欢朱莉·加耶的关系，奥朗德承认与瓦莱丽正处于痛苦时刻，承诺在下月11日出访美国前，向外界交代到底谁才是真正的“第一女友”。
President Hollande admitted to suffering “pain” in his private life, but he refused to comment on reports that he is having an affair with a 41-year-old actress, Julie Gayet. He declined to say whether his official companion Valérie Trierweiler should still be considered France’s First Lady. He said that a statement would be made before 11 February when the French first couple are expected to visit the Obamas at the White House. “Everyone in his private life can go through ordeals,” President Hollande said. “That is what is happening to us. “These are painful moments. But I have a principle that private matters are dealt with in private. This is neither the place nor the time to do so.”
奥朗德在记者会前表明只谈经济，但仍无法阻止记者不断追问。被问及瓦莱丽是否仍是第一女友时，奥朗德说：“每个人的人生都会遇到考验，这是我们面对的痛苦时刻。但我有一个原则，就是私生活只能私下解决。”48岁的瓦莱丽在获知总统绯闻后“非常震惊”，自10日起住进医院。
Asked about the health of Ms Trierweiler, 49, who is in hospital recovering from a “severe case of the blues”, Mr Hollande said curtly: “She is resting. I have nothing else to say.” So much for the private man. The other Hollande – the Socialist statesman and would-be saviour of France – was in more loquacious form. He spent most of a two-and-a-half hour press conference explaining a sharp lurch in his economic policy towards a more market-driven, supply-side approach.
法国传媒14日报道，瓦莱丽在总统绯闻传出当日，曾在推特发文，称自己选了一个“丑陋的男人”。有传她和奥朗德早已分手，却不愿搬离爱丽舍宫，故男方的团队刻意爆料，迫使她受辱离开。
Mr Hollande did take a couple of other questions on “l’affaire Gayet” without confirming or denying that the man pictured in a motorcycle helmet leaving her flat on 31 December was indeed him. He would not sue Closer magazine for publishing the images, he said, though his “indignation was total” at the breach of his right to privacy. Yes, he agreed the legal status of the French First Lady – at present she has none – should be made clear. Mr Hollande promised “transparency” on the subject.
另有报道指，奥朗德之所以认识新欢加耶，居中牵线的原来是与他在一起30年的前女友罗雅尔，当年正是瓦莱丽从罗雅尔身边抢走奥朗德。