‘Infernal triangle’ brings only jeers for political Monsieur Normal
France is marvelling at the power of a single tweet. Until Valerie Trierweiler unleashed her killer text against Segolene Royal, Francois Hollande was basking in a honeymoon that was much enhanced by his image as Monsieur Normal.
He had won the election last month by promising new modesty and above all, an end to the ‘‘lamentable confusion of personal and public life’’ for which he and much of France held his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy in contempt.
Then Trierweiler pressed ‘‘send’’ on her iPhone.
There had been rumblings during the election campaign, but since the lethal tweet, the strife among Francois, Valerie and Segolene – now known as the ‘‘infernal triangle’’ – has burst on to the public stage.
Helped by caricaturists, comics and commentating
Winner takes all: psychiatrists, a farce worthy of the great Georges Feydeau is playing at the Elysee Palace.
Nicolas Canteloup, a star impersonator, offered a scene on the radio this week. A manically jealous Valerie was smashing the palace porcelain while Francois pleaded with his ‘‘little sweetheart’’ to calm down.
This week’s Le Canard Enchaine was packed with satire depicting Hollande as helpless under the power of the two women in his life. In one cartoon, Hollande boasts of his achievement in winning control everywhere – the presidency and both houses of parliament.
‘‘But not in the bedroom,’’ his Prime Minister corrects him.
Among the general public, there is some sympathy for the President because Trierweiler is perceived as playing a vaudeville virago. Her antics and Royal’s parliamentary election defeat have also made the President’s ex more likeable, although the feud has done little to dim her aura of selfappointed sainthood.
If the new Premiere Dame manages to stop venting in public, the damage for Hollande may fade. But an old adage from the royal court of Versailles still applies for the 21st-century rulers of France: nothing kills more surely than ridicule.