Closer To Pay €15,000 Julie Gayet President Hollande Love Affair Report
Closer magazine was ordered to pay €15,000 to actress Julie Gayet for reporting she had affair with French President Francois Hollande Reuters

A French magazine has been ordered to pay thousands of euros in damages to Julie Gayet over a report claiming she had an affair with President Francois Hollande.

The Court in the Paris suburb of Nanterre ruled that Closer magazine breached Gayet's privacy as it published pictures purportedly showing the 59-year-old president and the 41-year-old actress arriving separately at the same flat in Paris.

Hollande, who has never denied the liaison, broke up with his partner Valerie Trierweiler within days of the publication in January.

Gayet sued the magazine and has been awarded €15,000 (£12,400) in damages, considerably less than the €54,000 she had sought.

Closer was also ordered to publish the verdict on its cover.

At a court hearing earlier this month, Gayet's lawyer, Jean Ennochi, claimed that after the publication the actress had been hunted by reporters and paparazzi.

"She was plagued by swarms of photographers it was like they were hunting a wild animal," Ennochi said.

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