Why the French President's Private Life Is Getting a Lot Less Private

French law prohibits the news media from prying into the private lives of public figures. Yet they’re doing it more and more, as the magazine Closer demonstrated on Jan. 10 when it published seven pages of photos documenting an alleged affair between President François Hollande and actress Julie Gayet. The same day, his companion Valérie Trierweiler, France’s first lady, checked into a hospital to “get some rest and have some tests,” her office said.

Hollande issued a statement saying he “strongly deplores the attack on his private life” but said he wouldn’t sue. Odds are he’d win if he took the magazine to court. Closer removed the story from its website after Gayet’s lawyer obtained what the magazine described as a “very clear” legal injunction: It’s illegal in France for newspapers or magazines to publish pictures of famous people engaged in private activities without their consent.