Actress linked to Hollande sues magazine over affair report

PARIS, France – (UPDATED) French actress Julie Gayet has initiated a privacy suit against Closer magazine over its report that she was having an affair with President Francois Hollande, the magazine said Thursday, January 16.

Gayet, 41, is seeking 50,000 euros in damages and 4,000 euros in legal costs from the magazine over a report she claims breached France’s privacy legislation.

If she wins, Closer will have to publish the legal verdict on its cover page.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Hollande expressed his “total indignation” over Closer’s publication of photos that the magazine said showed him and Gayet arriving separately for secret trysts at a borrowed flat yards from the presidential Elysee Palace.

But the Socialist leader ruled out legal action on his own behalf, saying that would not be appropriate given that he himself enjoys immunity from any legal action.

Even if Closer is forced to pay Gayet the maximum amount she has claimed, the magazine’s scoop should still be a money earner.

Earlier this week, it said it was on track to sell 600,000 copies of its edition with the Hollande/Gayet pictures, twice is usual circulation.

The magazine has promised another series of pictures and fresh revelations about the affair in its next edition, which hits the streets on Friday, January 17. –Rappler.com