Valérie Trierweiler (French pronunciation: [valeʁi tʁiɛʁvɛlɛːʁ]; née Massonneau; born 16 February 1965) is a French journalist and author.[1] She has hosted political talk shows and has contributed to Paris Match. She is best known for having been the companion of the president of France, François Hollande, until January 2014.[2]

Valérie Trierweiler
Trierweiler in 2012
Companion of the President of France
In role
15 May 2012 – 25 January 2014
PresidentFrançois Hollande
Preceded byCarla Bruni-Sarkozy
Succeeded byBrigitte Macron (2017)
Personal details
Born
Valérie Massonneau

(1965-02-16) 16 February 1965 (age 59)
Angers, France
Spouses
  • Franck Thurieau
    (m. 1989; div. 1992)
  • Denis Trierweiler
    (m. 1995; div. 2010)
Domestic partner(s)François Hollande
(2007–2014)
Children3
Alma materParis 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University (DESS)
OccupationJournalist, talk show host
Signature

Early life

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Valérie Massonneau was born in Angers, the fifth child of six.[3] Her father, Jean-Noël Massonneau, had lost a leg on a landmine during the Second World War, when he was 13,[4] and died at the age of 53, when his daughter was 21.[3] Her mother worked at the front desk of the Angers ice rink following the death of her father.[3]

Massonneau studied history[3] and political science and obtained a Diplôme d'études supérieures spécialisées in political science from the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne.[5]

Career

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Valérie Trierweiler in 2012

In 2005, Trierweiler began to host political talk shows, especially interviews, on the Direct 8 television channel. She fronted the weekly political talk show Le Grand 8 until 2007 and with Mikaël Guedj has co-hosted the weekly show Politiquement parlant ("politically speaking") since September of that year.

In 2012, Trierweiler announced that she would keep her contract as a journalist with the Paris Match magazine during the presidency of her boyfriend, Francois Hollande.[6]

On 12 June 2012, Trierweiler caused widespread controversy by tweeting in support of Olivier Falorni, who was standing for election as a dissident socialist candidate at La Rochelle, against Ségolène Royal, Hollande's former partner. Hollande had already made public his own support for Royal's campaign.[7][8]

In 2017, Trierweiler published her first novel, Le secret d'Adèle.[9] The book is about the life of Adele Bloch-Bauer, best known for Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I.[9]

Personal life

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Peña Nieto, Hollande and partners in Paris, in 2012.

Trierweiler's first marriage, to childhood friend Franck Thurieau,[10] ended in divorce with no children. Her second marriage was to Denis Trierweiler, a sub-editor at Paris Match magazine,[11] and a writer and academic. This marriage produced three children and divorce proceedings took three years (2007–2010).

Trierweiler met François Hollande during the parliamentary elections of 1988 while he was living with Ségolène Royal. They began their relationship in 2007, while she was still married, and made it public in October 2010 after her divorce was publicized.[4]

In January 2014, a story in the celebrity magazine Closer featured seven pages of alleged revelations and photos about an affair between Hollande and the French actress Julie Gayet.[12][13] Trierweiler was subsequently admitted to hospital on 10 January "for rest and some tests".[14][15] On 17 January, Hollande made his first private visit to see her in hospital.[16][17] On 25 January, it was announced her relationship with Hollande had ended.[18]

In September 2014, a book written by Trierweiler, Merci pour ce moment (Thank You for This Moment), was published. It details her relationship with Hollande and their breakup.[19]

Honours

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Bibliography

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  • Merci pour ce moment (Paris: Les Arènes, 2014).
  • Le secret d'Adèle. Paris: Les Arènes. 2017. ISBN 9782352046158. OCLC 987907877.

References

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  1. ^ Valérie Trierweiler, la femme discrète, Le Point, 24 February 2011
  2. ^ "François Hollande officialise sa séparation avec Valérie Trierweiler". Le Monde. 25 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d ""Valérie Trierweiler sort de l'ombre" par Marion Van Renterghem". Le Monde. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  4. ^ a b Guichoux, Marie (20–26 October 2011). "De l'ombre à la lumière". Le Nouvel Observateur. No. 2450. pp. 68–69.
  5. ^ "Valérie Trierweiler, la femme discrète". Le Point. 24 February 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  6. ^ "Valérie Trierweiler, partner of new French President François Hollande: What you need to know". The Periscope Post. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  7. ^ "Hollande's partner Trierweiler in Royal Twitter row". BBC News. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  8. ^ Steven Erlanger, "An Endorsement from France’s First Lady Causes a Stir", The New York Times dated 12 June 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  9. ^ a b De Montety, Etienne (17 May 2017). "Le secret d'Adèle, femme libérée". Le Figaro. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  10. ^ Bourmaud, Alain; Nadia Le Brun (4 October 2012). Valérie Trierweiler, la dame de pique. Edi8 – First Editions. p. 47. ISBN 978-2-7540-4942-9. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  11. ^ "François, Ségolène et Valérie". Le Nouvel Observateur. 31 August 2011.
  12. ^ Vie privée : Hollande veut porter plainte contre "Closer"Le Monde, 10 January 2014
  13. ^ "Rumeur Hollande-Gayet: Closer va retirer l'information de son site". Le Figaro (in French). 10 January 2014.
  14. ^ "French First Lady in hospital after alleged Hollande affair", BBC News, 12 January 2014
  15. ^ Adam Withnail "French first lady Valerie Trierweiler ‘in hospital’ following Francois Hollande affair claims", The Independent, 12 January 2014
  16. ^ "French President visits Hospitalized First Lady". Weekly Times. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  17. ^ "French President visits Hospitalized First Lady". Segment.com. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  18. ^ France's Hollande 'to split from Valerie Trierweiler' BBC. 25 January 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  19. ^ "Valerie Trierweiler suicide attempt", from The Guardian dated 3 September 2014
  20. ^ "2013 Foreign Recipients of Japanese Honours". mofa.go.jp (in Japanese).
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Unofficial roles
Preceded by Companion of the President of France
2012–2014
Vacant
Title next held by
Brigitte Macron