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French President's Partner Admits Tweet 'Mistake'

French President Francois Hollande's partner Valerie Trierweiler admitted Wednesday she had made a mistake in firing off a tweet snubbing Hollande's ex-companion and said she regretted it.

"It was a mistake that I regret. I must have been clumsy because this was badly interpreted," Trierweiler told the Ouest-France newspaper. "I had not yet realized that I was no longer a simple citizen. It won't happen again."

During parliamentary elections in June, the 47-year-old sent out a tweet wishing good luck to an opponent of Segolene Royal -- Hollande's ex-partner and mother of their four children.

The tweet attracted widespread media coverage, with the French press calling it an embarrassment to Hollande shortly after his victory in the presidential race.

"It is entirely to her credit that Valerie Trierweiler has taken the time to express her regrets," government spokeswoman Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said after the first lady's interview with Ouest-France.

There has long been speculation of intense rivalry between Royal and Trierweiler and a string of books have appeared chronicling the history of the love triangle.

According to the accounts, Hollande first became enamored of Trierweiler back in the 1980s and they were already a couple in 2007, although he publicly pretended to be still with Royal when she ran unsuccessfully for president that year.

An opinion poll released Wednesday showed two-thirds of the French have a negative opinion of Trierweiler and more than 40 percent believe Hollande's private life is having a bad impact on his image.

The poll by Harris Interactive for celebrity magazine VSD showed 67 percent of respondents with a "fairly negative" or "very negative" view of the unofficial first lady and 42 percent saying Hollande's private life was having a negative impact on the president's image.

Hollande's approval ratings have slumped since he came to office, with opponents portraying him as a hapless ditherer who lives in fear of the two women in his life.

Trierweiler also told Ouest-France that she had given up plans to host a television show, saying that "being the president's partner and working for a television station might raise questions".

But she continues to write -- on non-political topics -- for Paris Match magazine, for which she worked before becoming first lady.

Source: Agence France Presse


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