Gayet wins privacy case against mag
French actress Julie Gayet, whose affair with President Francois Hollande made headlines worldwide, on Tuesday won a privacy case against a photographer who snapped her in her car.
A court in the western Paris suburb of Nanterre also fined two senior executives of French glossy magazine Closer, which splashed the photograph only a week after revealing the affair in early January.
The court handed paparazzo Laurent Viers a suspended fine of 1,000 euros ( 1,300) for taking the photo, which Closer splashed with the caption: “It’s in her white Citroen that Julie Gayet meets the President.” Carmine Perna, director general of Closer publisher Mondadori Magazines France, and the magazine’s editor- inchief Laurence Pieau both received suspended fines of 3,000 euros.
Under French law, the inside of a car is considered to be a private space. Pieau had earlier contested this, telling the court that “for me, a car is not a private space” but refused comment after Tuesday’s ruling. “It’s an important ruling,” said Jean Ennochi, lawyer for the 41- year- old actress, adding that it was the first time that officials from Closer had been sentenced.
Viers had previously said he was merely tracking the actress “to have some information”. Gayet, meanwhile, told prosecutors she “just could not shake him off ”.