François Hollande has made the French presidency look "ridiculous" with his scooter-driven nocturnal trips to visit his mistress, Nicolas Sarkozy was reported as saying on Wednesday.
As the scandal over Mr Hollande's affair with Julie Gayet, a 41-year old actress, continued to reverberate around France, Le Canard Enchaîné, the investigative weekly, said that Mr Sarkozy – his Right-wing predecessor – has been gloating over his rival's woes.
"He's got himself into a right old pickle," he was reported as saying to "visitors".
"Perhaps this will put an end to all his moralising," said Mr Sarkozy, whose Socialist successor has often accused of shamelessly exploiting his private life for political gain.
"With Carla, we tried to quickly make our relationship official because I didn't want a photo taken one sordid morning or after nightfall," Le Canard cites him as saying.
"While everyone has the right to a private life, when one is a public figure and president, one must be careful to avoid being ridiculous," he is quoted as scoffing.
"Well, that photo of Hollande coming out of his mistress' place with a motorbike helmet makes Hollande look totally ridiculous. He is the ridiculous president." Read on and comment » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Wednesday, January 15, 2014
