Newly married Hollande hints at a fresh run for presidency

THE former French president François Hollande, known for a string of highprofile love affairs, has married for the first time amid speculation he may be preparing a new bid for leadership.

Mr Hollande married the actress Julie Gayet in a discreet ceremony on Saturday in Tulle in Corrèze, eight years after their affair was revealed by a tabloid magazine, midway through his presidential term. The revelation of the relationship dealt a blow to his political standing after he was pictured taking a late-night motorbike ride from the presidential palace, where he lived with his long-term partner, Valerie Trierweiler.

The former president is no longer directly involved in politics, but has dropped hints – while campaigning for socialist candidates in this month’s legislative elections – that he may consider another run for the presidency in 2027.

“Everything is still open,” he said recently.

The exposure of Mr Hollande’s affair with Ms Gayet was not the first time his love life overshadowed his career. The acrimonious break-up of his relationship with the politician Ségolène Royal, with whom he has four children, was partly blamed for Mr Hollande’s loss to Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2007 presidential election.