Mitterand’s Funeral | Iconic Photos Famous, Infamous and Iconic Photos Mitterand’s Funeral Mitterand’s wife Danielle stands on the far left, his mistress Anne Pingeot(second from right) and illegitimate daughter Mazarine (third from right) Anne and Mazarine François Mitterrand served as the President of France from 1981 to 1995, the first left-wing head of state since 1957 and the only member of the Socialist Party to be elected as the President of France. He also holds the record of the longest-serving (almost 14 years) President of France. At President Francois Mitterand’s funeral in 1996, his wife and his long term mistress stood side-by-side at the grave, accompanied by their respective legitimate and illegitimate children . Although the press made no comment, the existence of his illegitimate daughter Mazarine was revealed by the popular magazine Paris-Match in 1994, just months before he left office. Mitterrand concealed the fact for years.

For more details on sex life of French politicians, see Sexus Politicus (Dubois, Deloire), which premise is that in France, a successful politician is also a seductive politician. Prime Minister Edgar Faure mused when he gained the lofty title of “president of the Council,” “When I was a minister, some women resisted me. Once I became president, not even one.” President from 1895 to 1899, Félix Faure, who was not related, died in the bed of his mistress. De Gaulle was the only post-World War II French leader to maintain a strict military discipline over his personal life. Giscard d’Estaing claimed he had as many mistresses as the salons of Paris, and noted, “When I was president of the republic, I was in love with 17 million French women.

When I saw them in the crowd, they felt it and then they voted for me.” Rate this: A Tell-All’s Tale: French Politicians Stray Early and Often - The New York Times The New York Times Europe |A Tell-All’s Tale: French Politicians Stray Early and Often Search Continue reading the main story Correction Appended PARIS, Oct. 16 — Did President Jacques Chirac have a child with a Japanese mistress? Did the Socialist politician and would-be presidential candidate Dominique Strauss-Kahn attend a sex soirée? Did former President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing really have as many mistresses as the salons of Paris have claimed? Sex and politics have intermingled in France for centuries, but the private lives of politicians have historically been kept secret. This is, after all, the country in which President François Mitterrand concealed for years the existence of a daughter born out of wedlock. It was disclosed by the popular magazine Paris-Match in 1994, just months before he left office, and both of his families attended his funeral two years later.

Now, “Sexus Politicus,” a 390-page tell-all book on the subject, has catapulted to the top of the nonfiction best-seller lists, a reflection of the erosion of privacy in French public life and the appetite for a gossipy read. The authors, Christophe Dubois and Christophe Deloire, are veteran investigative reporters who have written books about the murder of the prefect of Corsica in 1998 and the rise of Islamic extremism in France. Advertisement Continue reading the main story About 150,000 copies are in print in France, a remarkable number here for a work of nonfiction. “It’s a rather serious book based on interviews, not just hearsay,” said Patrick Jarreau, one of the editors of Le Monde, though the book does circulate old rumors that the authors say cannot be confirmed. “Sex and politics seven months ahead of a presidential election — that’s a pretty good recipe for success.” The book’s central premise is that in France, a successful politician is also a seductive politician. Sex, the authors say, is a civic imperative.

“Far from being a flaw, to cast yourself in the role of seducer is without doubt an important quality in our political life,” the book claims. Certainly, power attracts. When Edgar Faure became prime minister in the 1950’s, he gained the lofty title of “president of the Council,” and that apparently made all the difference. “When I was a minister, some women resisted me,” he once was quoted as saying. “Once I became president, not even one.” Photo Christophe Dubois, left, and Christophe Deloire are the authors of Sexus Politicus, a new book on sex and French politics. Its central premise is that by French tradition, a successful politician is a seductive one. Credit Ed Alcock for The New York Times France’s president from 1895 to 1899, Félix Faure, who was not related, died in the bed of his mistress. De Gaulle was the only post-World War II French leader to maintain a strict military discipline over his personal life, the book asserts. More recently, it adds, Mr. Giscard d’Estaing, Mr. Mitterrand and Mr.

Chirac juggled the demands of the state, their families and their extracurricular activities with aplomb. They understood, according to the authors, a fundamental rule of French politics: Good politicians love and are loved. “When I was president of the republic, I was in love with 17 million French women,” Mr. Giscard d’Estaing said in an interview taped for the television show “Private Life, Public Life” to be broadcast Wednesday. He added, “When I saw them in the crowd, they felt it and then they voted for me.” The authors speculate that one reason the Socialist former Prime Minister Lionel Jospin was not a more attractive presidential candidate was that he “was too lacking” in seduction. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Chirac, by contrast, apparently had such power over women that his wife, Bernadette, confessed in a book in 2001 that she suffered from terrible jealousy. “The day Napoleon abandoned Josephine, he lost everything,” she warned him several times. The book also quotes Mr. Chirac’s chauffeur for 25 years, Jean-Claude Laumond, as saying that Mrs.

Chirac would ask, “But in short, Mr. Laumond, where is my husband tonight?” Considerable space is devoted to the well-documented soap opera marriage of Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy , the leading candidate for the presidential nomination for the governing UMP party, and his wife, Cécilia. The editor of Paris-Match was forced to resign after the magazine published a cover photo of Mrs. Sarkozy and her supposed lover looking at a New York apartment layout. The book speculates that at first Mr. Sarkozy presented himself as lonely and long-suffering, but then thought better of it, letting it be known through supporters that he was happy. Photo Among mourners at President François Mitterrands funeral in 1996 were his mistress, Anne Pingeot, left, with their daughter, Mazarine. “If I have a free evening, I know with whom I want to spend it,” the weekly magazine Le Point quoted Mr. Sarkozy as saying last fall. (He was reported to have been involved for several months with a prominent newspaper reporter.) He and his wife have since reconciled.

To avoid being prosecuted under France’s tough privacy and anti-defamation laws, the authors of the book withheld the names of some of the lovers, and made sure they kept ample ammunition in their files — from interviews and from police and intelligence reports. Sometimes the book knocks down rumors, but it also cites public reports the authors could not confirm. For instance, the unsubstantiated story about Mr. Chirac fathering a child with a Japanese mistress was told in a book by Guy Birenbaum in 2003. “We haven’t been attacked because, to be really honest, often we knew more than we wrote,” Mr. Deloire said. “No politician wants to run the risk that more stories will come out in court.” Instead of protesting, the subjects of the book are staying quiet. Spokesmen for Mr. Chirac, Mr. Sarkozy and Mr. Giscard d’Estaing sent e-mail messages saying they would not comment. Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s office did not respond to several requests. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Unlike in the United States, where such a revelation would become the focus of a blanket media investigation, French journalists barely raised the issue.

Indeed, the reaction of the French people is starkly different from that in the United States, where a sex scandal can threaten to bring down a government. A January poll by TNS Sofres for the newspaper Le Figaro found that most French voters wanted their next president to be around 50, multilingual, honest and willing to listen. Only 17 percent said they would not vote for those who had extramarital affairs. That Ségolène Royal, the leading candidate for the Socialist nomination in next year’s presidential election, is not married to the father of their four children has not been an issue. That said, the French tolerance — or even celebration — of sexual exploits may change if Ms. Royal becomes president. “This French exception that makes power rhyme with sexual prowess — will it survive the feminization of politics?” Le Figaro asked. “This question has not escaped Ségolène Royal, who predicts the revenge of women if she assumes power.” Maia de la Baume contributed reporting. Correction: Oct. 27, 2006 An article on Oct. 17 about a new book on the sex lives of French politicians misidentified the former leader who died in the bed of his mistress.

It was Félix Faure, the president from 1895 to 1899 — not Edgar Faure, a prime minister in the 1950’s who had the title “president of the Council.” (Edgar, who was not related to Félix, also fancied himself a lady’s man. As quoted in the article, Edgar said, “When I was a minister, some women resisted me. Once I became president, not even one.”) A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A4 of the New York edition with the headline: A Tell-All’s Tale: French Politicians Stray Early and Often. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe BBC ON THIS DAY | 8 | 1996: France's former president Mitterrand dies About This Site | Text Only 1996: France's former president Mitterrand dies France is mourning the loss of its longest-serving president, Francois Mitterrand, who has died at the age of 79 from prostate cancer. The news was announced by President Jacques Chirac at a news conference at the Elysee Palace.

He told journalists: "For 14 years M Mitterrand wrote an important page in the history of our country. A great figure has left us." World leaders have paid tribute to France's former president, but Germany's Chancellor Helmut Kohl's was probably the most heartfelt. The pair had formed a close friendship in their shared goal of seeing through European integration. "Europe has lost a great statesman," he said. "I am mourning a good friend. We worked together in a close and trusting way for many years in building Europe and the deepening of German-French friendship." He leaves behind him two sons by his wife, Danielle, and one daughter by his mistress Anne Pingeot. Switching sides Mr Mitterrand was a controversial figure with a murky past. The son of a stationmaster, he graduated from the prestigious Institute of Political Sciences. In 1940 he was taken prisoner after the fall of France and escaped from Germany in 1941 to join the collaborationist Vichy government. He then switched allegiances to the resistance movement. He held ministerial posts in many cabinets from 1947 until 1958 when Charles de Gaulle became president.

A strong opponent of de Gaulle, he made first unsuccessful attempt at the presidency in 1965. In 1971 he became leader of a new Socialist Party consisting of various disparate left-wing groups. Three years later, in 1974, he tried once more to win the top job but was defeated by Valery Giscard d'Estaing. Finally he won the presidential elections in 1981 to become the first socialist president in 35 years. He left office in May 1995 after two seven-year terms and two periods of "cohabitation" - having to work with a right-wing majority in parliament, first with Mr Chirac as prime minister in 1986 and then with Edouard Balladur in 1993. Changing the face of Paris Mr Mitterrand earned himself nicknames from friend and foe alike. Socialists called him Tonton (meaning Uncle) and admired him for bringing the left back into power.

The tabloids dubbed him the Great Seducer for his reputation as a womaniser, counting film stars Brigitte Bardot, Michele Morgan and Josephine Baker among his lovers, as well as France's first female prime minister Edith Cresson and former minister Elisabeth Guigou. And his critics called him "God" because of his expensive architectural "Grand Projects" in Paris - including the glass pyramid at the Louvre and the massive Arche de La Defense - and his monarchic style of leadership similar to his predecessor General de Gaulle. And like de Gaulle, Mr Mitterrand rejected the pomp of a state funeral. He will instead be buried after a private ceremony in the family tomb in the village of Jarnac, near Angouleme, where he was born. A mass will be held simultaneously at Notre Dame in Paris attended by world leaders. In France, Adultery Has a Certain Air of Je Ne Sais Quoi - latimes In France, Adultery Has a Certain Air of Je Ne Sais Quoi Will puritanical, Victorian America ever be continentally blase about cheating?

January 26, 2001 |LYNN SMITH | TIMES STAFF WRITER Every time the news exposes a public figure as an adulterer someone invariably brings up the French. The French, we say, are more civilized and realistic about affairs. Look at the famous photograph of Prime Minister Francois Mitterand's wife, mistress and illegitimate daughter grieving together in 1996 at his funeral, for instance. When Jesse Jackson, married for 38 years, was forced last week by a tabloid expose to confess that he has a 20-month-old child with another woman, I was reminded again of the French. I thought back to the late '60s, when I was studying in Bordeaux and first heard about "le cinq a sept"--"the five-to-seven," a don't-ask-don't-tell time French couples supposedly give one another to be with their lovers. To a naive young American, raised in the suburbs in the 1950s, it was a thrillingly liberating concept, as romantic as the glitter of l'amour that permeated French public life and made every walk down the street an adventure.

The relative lack of outrage in the Jackson affair, the latest in a never-ending stream of similar revelations, made me wonder whether Americans are finally getting ready to adopt the French attitudes we've been talking so much about. Some think it's already happened. Others say it's just not possible. Basically, the French and the Americans are two different peoples with two different histoires de mentalite, or histories of thinking, says Laurent de Veze, the French cultural attache in Los Angeles and a former student of philosophy. Unlike Americans, the French inherited their attitudes toward l'adultere from deep cultural roots untouched by the Puritans, he explains. First, he says, there is the tradition, inherited from the French kings, that men of power proudly claim lots of mistresses openly. Henri II, for example, gave Chenonceaux, one of the most beautiful chateaus in the Loire Valley, to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers. Next, the French have the tradition of "boulevard theaters"--a popular comic theater that flourished from 1830 to 1916, he says.

The plot of the plays always centered around a love triangle--a husband and wife and a lover who hides in beds and cupboards or jumps out of windows to avoid being discovered. "The hero is always the man or the woman who has two lovers," de Veze says. "People laugh at the cocu (the cuckold). Because for 100 years, adultery is the major subject of Theatre de Boulevard where people come to laugh, it becomes less and less tragic. It becomes a laughing matter." Perhaps the most telling difference between the French and the Americans, he says, is the strong tradition of the French media, "which never, never, never interfere with private life," he says. "It's not a law. It's simply because people are not interested." De Veze insists he is not interested at all, for example, by his minister's sex life. "I'm not interested if he's gay, heterosexual, has a love affair with somebody. It's not my business." Many Americans, of course, are not interested at all in their public leaders' sex lives--until they hear or read about them in the news. Then we're fascinated. Or appalled.

"It's like the wonderful line in the country western song: 'I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know yesterday,' " says University of Washington sociologist Pepper Schwartz. "The problem is not that we wouldn't like to be like the French in some ways. It's just easier to do in theory than when we have a press who gives us all the details. If I hear who Newt Gingrich was with while his wife was ill, I can't help but hate him for the information I have." Unlike the French, we don't automatically comprehend the nature of lust, forgive it, and create a separate compartment for it that doesn't affect our feeling for somebody, she says. It's mostly students of sexuality who understand that "a huge number of us live lives that would be considered deviant in some way," says Schwartz, author of "Everything You Know About Love and Sex is Wrong" (Putnam, 2000). "It doesn't mean we're all non-monogamous," she says. "Some people might like to be tied up, walk about in dog collars, or have no sex, which is also not allowed in our country.

I'm sure there are lots of couples who have not slept with each other for years and they'd never reveal it." In reality, French and American couples behave about the same. Divorce rates are about the same. There's probably the same amount of infidelity going on, say informed observers. "French spouses are as angry as American ones would be if this hit home," says novelist Diane Johnson, who divides her time between Paris and San Francisco and has written several books about Americans in France. ("Le Mariage" and "Le Divorce," to name two.) Why it really is OK to stray in France - The Local Why it really is OK to stray in France Matthew Warren 7 October 2011 15:06 CEST+02:00 The French are famed for their relaxed approach to extra-marital affairs, but is the country's love of a bit on the side really just a bit of a myth? Or is adultery really a very French affair? Matthew Warren investigates. As with food, wine and fashion, it seems the French possess a certain flair when it comes to bed-hopping. French movies are filled with married men and women slipping elegantly between partners with not the slightest hint of marital discord.

Everyone seemingly gives a Gallic shrug, smokes a cigarette and moves on. And it's not just the movies. French presidents through the years have been well-known to have had affairs with women other than their wives. France's last Socialist president, François Mitterrand, kept a whole second family on the go while married. He had a daughter, Mazarine, with his long-time mistress, Anne Pingeot. Both attended his funeral in 1996 alongside his wife, Danielle. Mitterrand's successor, Jacques Chirac, wrote in his own memoires about his affairs. “There have been women I have loved a lot, as discreetly as possible,” he said coyly. In many countries, such tales would mark the end of a politician's career. In France, it often seems to have the opposite effect, giving them a poll boost. Maryse Vaillant is a psychologist who has written extensively about infidelity in France. She published a book on the subject called 'Les Hommes, L'Amour, La Fidélité' (Men, Love and Fidelity). She agrees that the French see things differently.

"Our culture isn't as harsh about infidelity as, say, the Anglo-Saxon countries," she says. "It's different to the US where cheating on your wife is seen as very bad, by the wife, the cheater and the whole community. There, people would rather get divorced and remarry, whereas in France we can imagine someone being married and having relationships at the same time." Still, in France's macho society there remains a big difference between what men and women can get away with. "French culture is hard on women who cheat," says Vaillant. "The husband of a woman who cheats is ridiculed, even today." American writer Pamela Druckerman researched infidelity around the world for her book, 'Lust in Translation: Infidelity from Tokyo to Tennessee'. Druckerman lives in Paris so has first hand experience of how the French approach the topic. "At dinner parties other women's husbands and boyfriends hold my gaze a bit longer than all but the most lecherous American men would dare," she writes in the book. "Flirting with someone else's partner isn't a betrayal of your spouse or a gateway to extramarital sex.

It's a harmless way to have fun." This breezy nonchalance was shaken over the summer when leading politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested for the alleged rape of a hotel maid. The former IMF boss was once seen as the most likely candidate to challenge Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2012 presidential elections and had a huge lead in the polls until the incident on May 14th at New York’s Sofitel hotel. Charges were eventually dropped but the resulting cascade of stories about his behaviour ended his aspirations, for now. The seriousness of the accusations went beyond the dalliances that the French would normally regard as nothing to get too fussed about. Nevertheless, forgiveness appears to be swift. A poll taken in mid-September by Ifop said that 47 percent would like to see him return to politics. A DSK comeback is far from unlikely. One of the most striking features of the Strauss-Kahn story was the behaviour of his wife, Anne Sinclair. This glamorous, independently wealthy former TV journalist has stood by her husband throughout the ordeal, not with a pale smile through gritted teeth but with full make-up, perfect hair and expensive shoes.

While many non-French commentators have been amazed that she has stuck with her husband, the French find it completely acceptable and her personal approval rating has soared. A poll found that 54 percent of women say they "understand" the support she gave her husband. 58 percent of women said they have a good impression of her and almost three-quarters said she was "courageous." Maryse Vaillant says the role of the supportive wife who accepts that her husband may stray from time to time is well understood in French culture. "Anne Sinclair is perfect, a true companion. The French love women who are 'grande dames', who support their husbands." The truth is that the powerful elites have a much easier time of it than most French people. "Ordinary people allow elites to act in a way that they themselves wouldn't, in particular powerful men," says Vaillant. So what are the non-elite majority of French people up to? Are they also indulging in the famous cinq à sept, the term for the 5 to 7pm slot in the day when the French reportedly scuttle off to their lovers for a couple of hours together before going home?

Gleeden.com is a website that was set up for married people to meet others who want an uncomplicated romantic tryst. It already has 500,000 members in France alone and almost a million worldwide. Hélène Antier, a spokeswoman for Gleeden, says many French people prefer to avoid divorce by finding a few “moments of adventure” outside their marriage. It may be working. Divorce rates in France are certainly lower than many of the country’s European neighbours, including the UK, Germany, Belgium and Sweden. Antier says one of the particularities of their French members is the time spent wooing each other before actually meeting. “In France, our members don’t want to meet up immediately. They’re not after a sexual encounter tomorrow. People take several weeks before they meet up,” says Antier. “In Spain, it’s much quicker. People spend less time on the site before meeting up” Gleeden’s own figures suggest that the French are no more likely to stray than other nationalities. Its own research found that 17 percent of the French admitted to having an affair, the same as in Spain and Italy. Yet if the French aren’t cheating more than others, they do seem more tolerant.

53 percent of those questioned by Gleeden said it was possible to cheat on your partner while still loving them, the highest rate for all countries. Maryse Vaillant agrees that infidelity doesn’t mean you no longer love your partner. Indeed, she argues that being unfaithful can actually be a good thing for a relationship. "My research showed that giving in to temptation can help a man understand the extent to which he is attached to his wife," she says. "With his wife he has projects of bringing up children, buying a house, creating a life. With an attraction to another young woman it's not the same thing." "Sometimes we need a little emotional crisis to show the difference between a moment's satisfaction and building an existence together." Carla Bruni: France’s first lady – France Travel Guide in Featured Articles tagged carla bruni / carla bruni naked / Featured Articles / french politics / preisent sarkozy / Travel Guide Loving to Hate Her She’s the type of woman you love to hate (or maybe more accurately, I should say she’s the type of woman I love to hate).

She’s beautiful, she’s elegant, she’s well educated, she speaks 3 languages, she’s talented and she’s married to the President of France. Oh, and she looks really good naked. $91,000 good, apparently, as that’s what this topless photo of hers recently auctioned for out of Christie’s in New York. I mean, the woman has clearly got it going on. Damn her. Romance with the French President The French President’s love life fired up the pages of the tabloids recently when photos turned up of him and his new girlfriend, former model and singer Carla Bruni, gallivanting on beaches, taking day trips to EuroDisney and visiting the pyramids appeared all over the international press. Even the French, who are notoriously much more “anything goes” when it comes to affairs and romantic entanglements than the often prudish Americans, were fascinated and a little horrified that their President, Nicholas Sarkozy , was divorcing his wife and having a whirlwind romance with a super model. DOWNLOAD OUR TRAVEL GUIDES Who is this Bruni, anyways? For the French, extra-marital affairs are almost expected.

I mean, this is a people who had kings openly give castles to their mistresses and scoffed at Americans for making a big deal out of the Monica Lewinsky scandal in the United States. I mean, in France, you see boobs all over the television, sexuality is a relatively open subject and former French President Francois Mitterand’s mistress and wife stood side by side at his funeral in 1996. But people weren’t so sure how they felt about this affair being conducted so publicly. And, was this model and singer really qualified to be the first lady of France? Especially when a nude photo of Bruni auctioned for $91,000 out of Chrsities auction house in New York, some were worried that the model didn’t embody the makings of a first lady. Add to the mix Sarkozy’s ex-wife (who he left for Bruni) seen looking demure and oh so Jackie Kennedy-esque and people were bound to talk. Who is this Carla Bruni anyways? Is she the “French Diana” or she simply a husband stealing woman in search of fame and power? First Lady, or groupie?

The fact of the matter is that no matter how much you want to push aside this super model, who once dated Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger and former French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius, and think of her as unintelligent, it just isn’t the case. Carla Bruni is not only intelligent and well educated, she speaks three languages and she also comes from a great deal of money as the heiress to an Italian tire manufacturing company. Bruni is a naturalized French citizen, but is Italian by birth. Her parents moved from Italy to France in 1973 to distance themselves from a Marxist-Leninist group in Italy called the Red Brigade, who were responsible for some high profile kidnappings at the time. Her parents, who are a concert pianist and industrialist and classic composer, made sure Bruni attended the best boarding schools in Switzerland. She also studied art and architecture in Paris for some time before she dropped out and signed with City Models at 19, at which point her modeling career quickly took off. Bruni appeared in major campaigns for all of the major fashion houses. She also managed to record a couple of chart topping records and won a French equivalent to a Grammy. Hate her more now?

Carla Bruni and President Sarkozy started their romance after meeting at a dinner party in November 2007. By February 2008 the couple was married at Elysee Palace in Paris. Since then, the new wife of the French President has been impressing royals in England and meeting with heads of state from around the world. The French are certainly starting to warm up to her, proving once again that when it comes to sex and romance, the French tend to keep a much more open mind than the Americans. To see this photo which sold at Christie’s for $91,000, visit the Judy Pink Memoirs blog. Leave a Reply Cover-Ups Hurt Cheating American Politicians | Minnesota Public Radio News Cover-Ups Hurt Cheating American Politicians 3min 3sec Like a recovering amnesiac, Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina now recalls other times with his Argentine soul mate, and, oh yes, he crossed the line with various other women over a 20-year period. Call it an American tragedy. It is not that Europe doesn't have philandering politicians. It is that they are less likely to lie about it.

I can remember the funeral of former French President Francois Mitterrand in 1996 when his wife of some 50 years and his mistress and illegitimate daughter stood side-by-side in accordance with his dying wish. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was sued for divorce because of what his wife called "his endless womanizing." His defense was, "I never paid a woman." American politicians are more inclined to try to lie their way out of embarrassing liaisons, and often they end up in double trouble. It was Richard Nixon who famously said, talking about the Alger Hiss scandal, that it's not the original mistake that does you in. It's the cover-up. So it was that President Bill Clinton was impeached not for his affair with Monica Lewinsky, but for falsely testifying about it. As he told us all, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy had extramarital affairs, but those were not generally known until after they had died. Sanford's affair with the Argentine woman was unusual in its elaborate cover-up of a fictitious hiking trip. A lie peddled not only to the public, but to his staff and to his wife.

There was something almost bizarre in his press conference confession, "I have spent the last five days of my life crying in Argentina." Sounds like a takeoff on the musical Evita, in which the leading lady sings, "Don't cry for me, Argentina." One is left to wonder what makes politicians like ex-Sens. John Edwards of North Carolina and Gary Hart of Colorado jeopardize promising careers by cheating on their wives. Henry Kissinger famously said, "Power is the great aphrodisiac." To which maybe should be added, "and hypocrisy is the great virtue." François Mitterrand | Iconic Photos ( continued from yesterday ) On May 21, 1981, eleven days after his election, Francois Mitterrand officially took office as the French president. The day was marked by official ceremonies and public events. After the ritual wreath under the Arc de Triomphe, Mitterrand headed to Paris’ Left Bank for a new ceremony of his own: a pilgrimage to the Panthéon that was orchestrated to outdo Giscard’s farewell two days prior.

The Pantheon, completed in 1789 – the year of the French Revolution, was a symbolic mausoleum to “receive the bodies of great men who died in the period of French liberty”. Mitterrand entered the mausoleum holding a solitary rose — the symbol of the French socialists — as the Orchestre de Paris played Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” in the background. The crowd outside and the TV viewers didn’t know that but the Pantheon had been turned into a studio for the occasion. Cameras greeted Mitterrand and followed his descent in the crypt. Artist Serge Moati was engaged to direct the entire sequence. Rehearsals, body doubles and props (for the flowers) were used. Shrewd video editing enabled Mitterrand to enter the Pantheon with a single rose but place three roses on three graves; as Pierre Mauroy, Mitterrand’s first prime minister, said: “The rose for Jean Jaures represented our heritage; it was for the man who knew how to mobilize the left. The rose for Jean Moulin was the man who was able to unite Frenchmen from all walks of life to resist the foreign invador.

The rose for Victor Schoelcher was the man who made of France the emancipator of peoples.” When Mitterrand emerged from the Panthéon to face a crowd of cheering young supporters brandishing red roses, he displayed the first smile of his inauguration day. A final flourish was provided by a rendition of the Marseillaise, exuberant post-Giscard tempo that has been personally prescribed by Mitterrand. But if Mitterrand’s election elated his supporters, it produced apprehension in the West and in certain areas of France. As Mitterrand entered the Pantheon, many Parisians frantically packed their bags to flee the impending socialist “campaign to out-Keynes even Keynes”. Hidden behind these fears was a deeper realization that France’s unparalleled economic prosperity of the last thirty years had ended. Only two years before, the demographer Fourastié eulogized the era by his neologism, Les Trente Glorieuses. Mitterrand’s election, in this sense, was as much a vote against incumbency as a profound soul-searching.

Yet, Mitterrand’s moderate supporters believed that he would take a far more centrist approach once in office but he went on with his most radical promises: he created 250,000 new government jobs, raised pay for government employees, shortened the workweek from 40 to 39 hours, added a fifth week of paid vacation, reduced the retirement age to 60, increased social payments through Allocations Familiales, and nationalized 38 banks and 7 industrial giants. The results were an unmitigated disaster. The budget deficit tripled; inflation and unemployment stood in double digits. Mitterrand had to devalue the franc no less than three times to keep France’s exports competitive. Following the time-honored traditions of French presidents, Mitterrand sacked his first ministry and embarked on one of the most extraordinary reversals of economic policy in modern history: he froze the budget in 1983 and held raises for public employees below the rate of inflation. Entitlement programs were rolled back, and labour rules that restricted private sector hirings were weakened.

By the mid-80s, the budget was back in balance, and inflation fell to around 4%, thanks to this reversal which Mitterrand called “La Rigueur,” or roughly “Austerity” in English. (Video of Mitterrand’s Pantheon Visit below; begins at 3:30 mark) Rate this: Mitterand’s wife Danielle stands on the far left, his mistress Anne Pingeot(second from right) and illegitimate daughter Mazarine (third from right) Anne and Mazarine François Mitterrand served as the President of France from 1981 to 1995, the first left-wing head of state since 1957 and the only member of the Socialist Party to be elected as the President of France. He also holds the record of the longest-serving (almost 14 years) President of France. At President Francois Mitterand’s funeral in 1996, his wife and his long term mistress stood side-by-side at the grave, accompanied by their respective legitimate and illegitimate children .

Although the press made no comment, the existence of his illegitimate daughter Mazarine was revealed by the popular magazine Paris-Match in 1994, just months before he left office. Mitterrand concealed the fact for years. For more details on sex life of French politicians, see Sexus Politicus (Dubois, Deloire), which premise is that in France, a successful politician is also a seductive politician. Prime Minister Edgar Faure mused when he gained the lofty title of “president of the Council,” “When I was a minister, some women resisted me. Once I became president, not even one.” President from 1895 to 1899, Félix Faure, who was not related, died in the bed of his mistress. De Gaulle was the only post-World War II French leader to maintain a strict military discipline over his personal life. Giscard d’Estaing claimed he had as many mistresses as the salons of Paris, and noted, “When I was president of the republic, I was in love with 17 million French women.

When I saw them in the crowd, they felt it and then they voted for me.” Rate this: with one comment Socialist French President François Mitterrand and conservative British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Together, they were the titans of European and world politics in the 80s. Together, they harkened back to the era when the fate of the world was decided by the statesmen of Europe in her chancelleries. … and they didn’t get along well. Thatcher was taught as a child by her grocer father that the French were both Roman Catholic and Communist and riddled with sexual disease; Mitterand said that Margaret Thatcher had ‘the eyes of Caligula and the mouth of Marilyn Monroe’. Thatcher’s finest European hour came in 1984 when she marched into Fontainebleau to demand the ‘British rebate’–66% rebate from the French and the Germans who wanted to give only 50%. However, these two statesmen accomplished one monumental project together: the Chunnel.

Thatcher said she had no objection to a privately funded project to bridge the English channel, and in 1981, Thatcher and Mitterrand agreed to set up a working group to look into a privately funded project. Four submissions were shortlisted and in 1986, the Eurotunnel bid was selected. Foreign Affairs Ministers of both countries signed the Franco-British Treaty in Canterbury, which was ratified in 1987 by Thatcher and Mitterrand (above) inside the famed Chapter House, in Canterbury Cathedral. The tunnel was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II and Mitterrand in a ceremony held in Calais on 6 May 1994. Rate this: François Mitterrand - President (non-U.S.) - Biography.com François Mitterrand François Mitterrand served as president of France from 1981 to 1995. Associated with the Socialist Party, he's known for trying to unify the French Left. IN THESE GROUPS » quotes “After the war, a man of my age didn't know where to go. I did not feel like a man of the right, because I disagreed with certain points, especially on social justice.

I was tempted by socialism, but not by the parties that represented it.” “It's not dying about which I have any great worry. It's not living any more.” François Mitterrand Synopsis François Mitterrand was born on October 26, 1916, in Jarnac, France. Mitterrand served with the French forces during World War II. In 1971, he became secretary of the Socialist Party and tried to unify the French Left. He was elected president in 1981 and was re-elected in 1988, retiring at the end of that term. In 1991, Mitterrand appointed France's first female prime minister, Edith Cresson. He retired after completing his second term in office in 1995, and died in Paris in 1996. Student and Soldier French statesman and president François Mitterrand was born on October 26, 1916, in Jarnac, France. One of eight children, Mitterrand grew up in a middle-class, Catholic family. His father worked as a stationmaster for a railroad company.

Mitterrand attended College Saint-Paul in Angouleme. In 1934, he moved to Paris to continue his education. There, he studied law and politics at the University of Paris. Around this same time, Mitterrand showed an interest in right-wing politics and was reportedly a member of a conservative paramilitary group called the League of National Volunteers. After the start of World War II, Mitterrand served in the French Army. Wounded in battle in June 1940, he was taken prisoner, but escaped from a German prisoner of war camp in Kassel, Germany, the following year. Making his way back to France, Mitterrand found work as an official, helping former prisoners of war with the Marshall Philippe Petain-run Vichy government. He kept his involvement with this Nazi-backed regime hidden from the public for decades, in fear of being labeled a collaborator. Mitterrand took pride, however, in his history as a member of the French Resistance. He joined the underground movement in 1943, working to organize former prisoners of war to fight for France's freedom. Through his work with the Resistance, Mitterrand met General Charles de Gaulle.

Post-War Politician After the war ended, François Mitterrand served in de Gaulle's interim government. He won election to the National Assembly in 1946. Positioned initially as a centrist, Mitterrand held a number of government posts over the years. He acted as the minister for war veterans, minister for interior and minister for justice during this time. Mitterrand's political career came to a halt in the late 1950s, after he loudly opposed de Gaulle's creation of the Fifth Republic. As a result, he lost his Assembly seat in the 1958 election. For many years afterward, Mitterrand remained a stubborn opponent of de Gaulle. He even ran against de Gaulle for the presidency in 1965, but lost. A few years later, Mitterrand fared better with a shift in his political ideolog: Working for unification of the French Left, he became secretary of the Socialist Party in 1971. With the backing of the country's Socialists and Communists, Mitterrand tried again for the presidency in 1974. He lost to Giscard d'Estaing by a narrow margin.

Seven years later, however, he defeated d'Estaing to clinch France's top political post. President of France Following 1981 victory, Mitterrand embarked on a program of social and political reforms, seeking to nationalize banks and other businesses and improve workers' pay. He worked on job creation in an attempt to combat stagnation and unemployment, and successfully campaigned for abolition of the death penalty. The Socialists lost the majority in the National Assembly in 1986, forcing Mitterrand to work with the country's growing political right. More specifically, he had to find a way to cooperate with Prime Minister Jacques Chirac from 1986 to 1988. Mitterrand was re-elected president in 1988, becoming the first French politician to twice win election by popular vote in the country's history. With German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, he forged the Treaty of Maastricht on European union in 1991. That same year, he appointed France's first female prime minister, Edith Cresson (she only remained in the post for a short time). France's increasingly troubled economy contributed to a decline in Mitterrand's last years as president.

He also battled health problems during this time, undergoing two operations for prostate cancer while still in office. Final Years In 1995, Mitterrand resigned after completing his second term. His longtime rival, Jacques Chirac, succeeded him as France's president. During Mitterrand's retirement, revelations emerged of his friendship with wartime Vichy collaborators, political corruption and extra-marital affairs. Mitterrand died in Paris on January 8, 1996, at the age of 79. He was survived by his wife, Danielle (m. 1944-1996); two sons, Jean-Christophe and Gilbert; and daughter, Mazarine Pingeot (whom he'd had with his mistress, Anne Pingeot). Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us !

Citation Information World's Leaders Bid Farewell to Mitterrand - The New York Times The New York Times Archives |World's Leaders Bid Farewell to Mitterrand Search View page in TimesMachine , Page 00024 The New York Times Archives In flowing African robes, Arab headdresses and sober mourning clothes, the high and mighty of France and the world bade farewell today to former President Francois Mitterrand at a Requiem Mass in Notre Dame Cathedral while his family quietly laid him to rest in the town where he was born. The small family funeral in Jarnac, 250 miles from Paris in the Cognac country of southwestern France, and the public ceremony in Notre Dame were both exactly as Mr. Mitterrand wanted them -- no political speeches or eulogies, just the usual homily by the celebrant. In Paris that celebrant was Jean-Marie Cardinal Lustiger. The Primate spoke of the "mystery of his existence," and of Mr. Mitterrand's many published meditations on death. Mr. Mitterrand died at the age of 79 on Monday after a long battle with prostate cancer. Alluding to Mr.

Mitterrand's assertions that he was "more agnostic than anything else," the Cardinal added, "May Francois Mitterrand find in the company of saints the help, forgiveness and courage finally to open his eyes to the invisible." Continue reading the main story More than 60 world leaders and 1,300 other dignitaries gathered in the floodlit nave of the Gothic cathedral bore witness to Mr. Mitterrand's ecumenical influence and to the respect he enjoyed around the world. There was Iran's Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Velayati, sitting a few seats away from President Ezer Weizman and Prime Minister Shimon Peres of Israel, who shared many of Mr. Mitterrand's Socialist ideals. Advertisement Continue reading the main story President Fidel Castro of Cuba came in civilian clothes, wearing a blue serge overcoat, while Yasir Arafat, who heads the Palestinian Authority, was in uniform with his kaffiyeh. President Boris N. Yeltsin perched on a chair at the edge of the nave, and a row behind him a few seats away sat Vice President Al Gore, representing President Clinton.

Most of the leaders of Europe came, and when the choir broke into the plangent opening lines of Maurice Durufle's Requiem, a tear trickled down the cheek of the German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, who was perhaps Mr. Mitterrand's closest ally among the Europeans. The funeral and burial in Jarnac were equally extraordinary, shown in part by television cameras outside the small Romanesque Church of St. Peter. In the entering procession, behind the former President's widow, Danielle, and their two sons, was his longtime mistress, Anne Pingeot, and their daughter, Mazarine Pingeot. United in mourning, all were dressed in black. Mrs. Mitterrand had invited both women to the former President's official residence in Paris in the pre-dawn hours today when his coffin was taken to Villacoublay Air Base, west of Paris, to be flown to Jarnac for interment next to his parents' graves in the church graveyard. Mr. Mitterrand had spent Christmas in the southern Egyptian resort of Aswan with his daughter and her mother, and New Year's with Mrs. Mitterrand and their two sons in his country home in Latche, another southwestern French village.

Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Privacy Policy Only about 300 close friends and relatives attended the funeral in Jarnac. About 1,000 people from the general public had been expected in Notre Dame in addition to all the officials, but only a few hundred came. "I was at the great celebration of President Mitterrand's first victory at the Bastille in 1981, and I wanted to render a last homage to him today," said Jacques Horvath, a 40-year-old computer engineer, who got in line outside the cathedral at 6 A.M. today, five hours before the Mass. Several thousand people who could not get past the tight security listened to the Mass in the square in front of Notre Dame. And tens of thousands paid silent tribute to Mr. Mitterrand at the Place de la Bastille Wednesday night, despite pouring rain. Barbara Hendricks, the American soprano and close friend of the Mitterrands, ended the three-hour vigil by singing "The Time of the Cherries," a 19th-century revolutionary ditty.

She also sang the "Pious Jesus" solo from Gabriel Faure's Requiem at Notre Dame today. Advertisement Continue reading the main story President Jacques Chirac declared the day one of national mourning, but in accordance with Mr. Mitterrand's wishes, he let public schools and government offices stay open. Subway trains came to a halt for one minute at 11 A.M., the hour of the funeral services, as a sign of respect. Mr. Chirac and his wife, Bernadette, sat in the place of honor facing the transept altar at Notre Dame, while princes and potentates made do with the cathedral's unyielding caned chairs for the 90-minute Mass. A thundering organ improvisation by Jean-Pierre Leguay sent them scurrying out to be bused to Elysee Palace, where Mr. Chirac gave them lunch. President Clinton's absence was widely noted by French journalists who wondered why he could not come when leaders of countries as far away as Cambodia and most of French Africa had come to pay their respects. An American Embassy spokeswoman said that the President had asked Mr.

Gore to come as a sign of the high esteem that he and the people of the United States had for Mr. Mitterrand. Mr. Gore last saw him on May 8 for a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Mr. Chirac met briefly this morning with Mr. Gore and later with Mr. Yeltsin, who told reporters outside Notre Dame, "I came so everyone could see I was in perfect form." We are continually improving the quality of our text archives. Please send feedback, error reports, and suggestions to archive_feedback@nytimes.com. A version of this article appears in print on January 12, 1996, on Page A00024 of the National edition with the headline: World's Leaders Bid Farewell to Mitterrand. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe

Question: Which French Prime Minister's funeral was attended by his wife and his mistress in 1996?
Answer: Francois Mitterrand