Why French tolerate trysts, but are up in arms over gay sex

France was unfussed by Hollande's infidelity, but issue of same-sex relationships is a 'battleground'

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(Image credit: 2013 AFP)

IN THE eyes of many Anglo-Saxons the French are famously and fabulously relaxed when it comes to all things sexual. Just look at the recent revelations concerning Francois Hollande, the French president, who has been enjoying what the British tabloids call 'love trysts' with a nubile actress 18 years his junior.

What upset the French most wasn't the fact their leader was cheating on his long-term partner, Valerie Trierweiler, but that he was travelling to his meetings with her on the back of a scooter. Please! Aren't Frenchmen supposed to be the most dashing, the most debonair of lovers?

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