瓦莱丽将向法国总统索要巨额分手费

FRANCOIS Hollande had hoped to draw a line under the scandal plunging his presidency into farce when he phoned the French state news agency to announce his separation from Valerie Trierweiler.

But his domestic woes look set to continue amid claims he will have to pay her compensation for the humiliation and loss of earnings she suffered because of him.

As France's erstwhile first lady flew to India yesterday on a humanitarian assignment, friends said she was expecting to thrash out a financial settlement with the head of state upon her return.

"These women will have cost me dear," Mr Hollande told advisers over the weekend. The President left his five-bedroom flat in a chic suburb of Paris to Segolene Royal, the mother of his four children, when he dumped her for Ms Trierweiler in 2007.

Sources in his office say he has no intention of installing Julie Gayet, 41, the actress and film producer who is his latest mistress, in the Elysee Palace for now.

The publication of photographs showing Mr Hollande, 59, arriving on a scooter for a nocturnal encounter with Ms Gayet plunged him into private and political turmoil a fortnight ago.

He sought to restore dignity to the presidency when he telephoned Agence France-Presse, the national press agency, over the weekend to read an 18-word statement saying he had terminated his relationship with Ms Trierweiler.

It came after Ms Trierweiler, 48, refused to sign a joint statement with Mr Hollande, switching off her mobile on Friday and leaving his messages unanswered. Her spokesman, the only one of her five government staff still working for her, said she was now on "good terms" with Mr Hollande and in better health after the announcement of their break-up.

Ms Trierweiler spent a week in hospital and a further seven days recuperating at the presidential residence in Versailles after taking an overdose of sleeping pills upon discovering his affair with Ms Gayet. Her trip to Mumbai for Action Contre La Faim, which had been planned months ago, is likely to be her swansong as first lady. When she returns to Paris, she will find her page on the presidency's website has been removed.

Mr Hollande apparently has agreed to continue paying the rent for the flat in Rue Cauchy in the 15th arrondissement of Paris while she looks for somewhere else.

Friends of Ms Trierweiler, who has three sons from her second marriage, said she was expecting more than just short-term help with her accommodation. They say she wants compensation for having abandoned her post as presenter of a TV chat show, when Mr Hollande was elected in 2017.

Although she still works as a book reviewer for Paris Match - a post she will continue to fill, the magazine's editor says - she is understood to earn much less than Mr Hollande, who is paid Euro178,920 ($280,896) a year as president. The left-wing leader declared assets worth Euro1.17 million during the presidential campaign.

Bernard Fau, a divorce lawyer, said Ms Trierweiler could claim damages from the President not only for losing her quasi-official post as first lady but also for the way in which he cheated on her and then ditched her when his affair became known.

"She had an office, her activities were related on the presidency's internet site and she took part in state visits," Mr Fau said.

"She has suffered a loss with the end of this situation. Her image has been affected. She has suffered a worldwide public affront. The wrong is undeniable."

French courts rarely award more than a few thousand euros as compensation for hurt feelings in separation cases, but Ms Trierweiler may demand more given the pressure that friends say she has been under.

弗朗索瓦·奥朗德本希望通过法国国家通讯社电话宣布他和瓦莱丽分手的消息可以让自己免受丑闻的困扰，这一丑闻几乎快把他的总统生涯变成了闹剧。

但他的家务事似乎还要让他烦上一阵子，因为据称他将不得不向瓦莱丽支付赔偿金，来弥补她受到的羞辱和因此带来的收入上的损失。

这位法国的前第一夫人昨日飞往印度进行人道主义访问，她的朋友透露她一回来就要向法国总统索要分手费。

奥朗德周末告诉顾问们说：“这些女人会让我付出巨大代价。”奥朗德在抛弃他四个孩子的母亲、转而和瓦莱丽交往时，离开了他在巴黎郊区的五室豪宅。

据他办公室的消息来源称，他目前无意让他的新情妇、41岁的女演员兼电影制片人朱莉·加耶搬进爱丽舍宫。

刊登的照片显示，两周前59岁的奥朗德骑摩托车带着加耶去过夜，这组照片让他陷入了私人和政治的舆论漩涡。

当他上周末打电话给法新社，发布18个词的分手宣言时，他希望能让自己的总统形象重新变得有尊严。

此前48岁的瓦莱丽拒绝和奥朗德一起签署联合分手宣言，而且周五还关了手机，不回短信。她的发言人（也是唯一还为她工作的五个政府职员之一）说她现在和奥朗德还保持“良好关系”，而且在奥朗德宣布分手后身体健康也有所好转。

在得知奥朗德和加耶的地下恋情之后，瓦莱丽吃了过量的安眠药片，在医院住了一星期，之后又在凡尔赛的总统府邸休养了七天。她在几个月前就安排好的去印度孟买的反饥饿行动计划，也很可能是她作为第一夫人的最后一次亮相。当她回巴黎时，她将发现自己在总统网站上的页面已经被移除了。

奥兰德显然已经同意继续支付瓦莱丽在巴黎15区柯西街的公寓的租金，直到她找到新的住所。

瓦莱丽的朋友们说，和前夫生下三个儿子的瓦莱丽要的不只是住所的短期资金援助。朋友们透露瓦莱丽想索要她在2017年奥朗德当选后她为奥朗德放弃的电视访谈节目主持人职位的赔偿。

尽管她仍然为杂志《巴黎竞赛》做书评撰稿人，而且也还会继续做下去，但是她挣的比奥朗德少得多，奥朗德的总统薪水每年有17.89万欧元（28万美元）。这位左翼领导人在总统竞选期间宣报的资产为117万欧元。

离婚律师伯纳德·法奥说，瓦莱丽不仅可以为她因做“第一夫人”而失去的准官方职位索要赔偿，还可以因为奥朗德背叛和抛弃她索赔。

法奥说：“她有一个办公室，她的行动出现在总统的网站上，而且她参与了国事访问。”

“事态发展到最后，她受到了损失。她的形象因此遭受影响。她在全世界民众前丢脸。这种不公正是不可否认的。”

法国法院很少因为分手案中感情受到伤害而判处支付超过几千欧元的赔偿金，不过据瓦莱丽的朋友讲，基于瓦莱丽所承受的压力，她将索要更多。