Sunday Times 2
French First Lady embroiled In ‘Bermuda Love Triangle’
View(s):Valerie Trierweiler ‘out to block Segolene Royal, the President’s ex-partner from gaining a top post in his government’
By Ian Sparks
French First Lady Valerie Trierweiler is trying to block the President’s ex-partner from gaining a top cabinet post in his government, it was revealed today.
Bitter rivalry': Ms Trierweiler has been 'putting pressure' on Francois Hollande not to let Segolene Royal (above), who is the mother of his four children, into his closest circle of ministers
Ms Trierweiler, 47, has been ‘putting pressure’ on Francois Hollande not to let Segolene Royal – also the mother of his four children – into his closest circle of ministers, the French media reported. The bitter rivalry between the two women has been described as a ‘Bermuda love triangle’ by insiders at the presidential Elysee Palace.
Their feud six years ago when Mr Hollande, 57, separated from Ms Royal after 28 years together and began a relationship with journalist Ms Trierweiler after meeting her at a political rally.
The First Lady was then at the centre of accusations in May that she tried to wreck Ms Royal’s political career by tweeting her support for a candidate standing against her in the parliamentary elections.
Ms Royal – a former presidential candidate in 2005 – lost the election and later said she had been ‘stabbed in the back’ by Mr Hollande’s girlfriend.
Ms Trierweiler is said to be still so jealous of Ms Royal that she can not even bear to hear her name spoken.
Now France’s Ici Paris magazine has reported: ‘Ms Royal has made it quite clear to the president that she wants a place in his government.
‘But Ms Trierweiler is opposed to this and is putting pressure on the president to shut the door in her face.
‘He has not yet revealed his intentions, possibly because he is well aware of the complicated relations between his girlfriend and his ex-partner, and does not want to upset Ms Trierweiler.’
And news magazine VSD added: ‘One insider at the Elysee Palace told us the three-way relationship is like a Bermude love triangle – you can’t cross it without something going wrong.
‘Another source said no one is looking forward to the two women coming face to face if Ms Royal gets a ministerial post and they meet in the Elysee Palace after a cabinet meeting.’
Ms Trierweiler has been the target of repeated attacks by the French media and MPs since Mr Hollande won the election last May. Outspoken French MP Bernard Debre recently branded her ‘nothing more than the President’s mistress’ and told her to ‘stop meddling’ in the country’s affairs.
He wrote on his own internet blog: ‘Madame Trierweiler, self-proclaimed first Lady, is nothing more than the President’s mistress.
‘What is she meddling in? What right does she have to speak out? ‘When one is in her position, after the blunders she has already made, it would be much better it she shut up.’
Ms Trierweiler, pictured with with President Hollande, is said to be still so jealous of Ms Royal that she can not even bear to hear her name spoken
Ms Trierweiler also faced humiliation in September when her boss at the French magazine where she works said she would be sacked at the end of this year.
Glossy weekly Paris Match’s owner Arnaud Lagardere branded her as ‘an unpinned grenade’ who has caused him ‘nothing but trouble’ and said he would not be renewing her contract in January.
The First Lady is also demanding 70,000 pounds in damages over a book claiming that six years ago she cheated on her now divorced husband with two lovers at once.
Ms Trierweiler was the shared mistress of left-wing President Francois Hollande and right-wing minister Patrick Devedjian while she was married, the biography called The Troublemaker claimed. And a separate book about Ms Trierweiler called Between Two Fires, by investigative journalist Anna Cabana describes her ‘a cocktail of jealousy, vengeance and political calculation’.
And a third book about her called The favourite by journalist Laurent Greilsamer also writes: ‘As I see it, you have shown yourself to be not normal, snooty, infatuated, explosive, unpredictable. And visibly dangerous.’
© Daily Mail, London
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