Hollande saga: five reasons to redefine the French presidency

The French have kissed goodbye to the era of privacy: it's time the political class woke up, says John Gaffney

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(Image credit: 2012 AFP)

THERE are five things which make Francois Hollande’s alleged affair with the actress, Julie Gayet, sadly comical and politically dangerous.

First, public attitudes have shifted, not so much about sexual mores and the weaknesses of the flesh – in fact, with the decline in religious observance, things are even more liberal. But cheating on your wife or partner, with such intensity and frequency is seen – even in France – as sexist and the sign of a patriarchal society of inequality and disrespect. And sending your partner, Valérie Trierweiler, into hospital in a state of nervous collapse is not seen as the act of a man of integrity.

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