{{French actress Julie Gayet has filed legal action over rumours that she is the mistress of President François Hollande, her lawyer said in a statement on Thursday.}}
Judicial sources said Gayet, 40, who appeared in one of Hollande’s 2012 campaign commercials, filed a complaint on March 18 with Paris prosecutors for breach of privacy.
The move came after numerous blogs and Websites alleged that she was pursuing a relationship with Hollande.
Gayet’s lawyer Vincent Toledano denied the rumours in a statement.
“The actress Julie Gayet has instructed my chambers to take legal action over the rumour, widely disseminated on the internet, suggesting, with no foundation, that she has a romantic relationship with the president of the republic,” he said.
{“Nothing to justify” claims}
“She expects her right to a private family life to be respected as there is nothing to justify these claims.”
Hollande, 58, lives with his girlfriend Valerie Trierweiler, a journalist. He had a previous relationship with fellow Socialist politician and onetime presidential candidate Ségolène Royal, who is the mother of his four children.
Hollande’s office refused to comment when contacted by AFP.
Gayet, who has two children, is a television and movie actress who has appeared in more than 50 films. She is due to play Helen of Troy in an upcoming series named “Odysseus” on France’s Arte TV channel.
In the campaign video she filmed for Hollande, she described him as “marvellous” but also “humble, and a really good listener”.
Gayet is a strong supporter of same-sex marriage, one of Hollande’s key election pledges. His Socialist government has pushed ahead with plans to implement its “marriage for all” policy despite opposition from the Catholic Church and France’s centre-right opposition.
france24
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