The French President's dire approval ratings see a slight uptick after allegations of an affair 
 
 Sean Gallup / Getty Images and Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images President Francois Hollande and actress Julie Gayet. 
 
 French President Francois Hollande dislikes his personal life being discussed in the media, but he might have cause to change his mind — according to one poll his approval rating has gone up following reports that he’s having an affair with French actress Julie Gayet. 
 
 Hollande’s approval rating went up by 2 points to 26 percent, based on a LH2 poll conducted for French magazine Le Nouvel Observateur on Jan. 10 and 11. It’s a slight improvement on his performance last year, when he hit a record low of 15 percent in one November poll, making him the most unpopular president in modern French history. 
 
 The Socialist leader’s approval rating is far below that of his predecessor, conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy, who was in power between 2007 and 2012. 
 
 Hollande has criticized the French magazine Closer for publishing the allegations, declaring in a statement that he “deeply deplored” the magazine’s intrusion into his personal life, reports Bloomberg. 
 
 It seems the majority of the French public agree—a separate Ifop poll showed 77 percent of French voters considered the matter to be private, and 84 percent had not changed their opinion about Hollande following news of the alleged affair. 
 
 [Bloomberg] 

 Two François Hollandes appeared before the world’s press today. One of them, the statesman and would-be saviour of France, refused to comment on the nocturnal escapades of the private man. 
 
 He was allowed to get away with it, more or less, by the 600 journalists packed into the glittering Chambre de Fêtes of the Elysee Palace. It is difficult to imagine the leader of any other democratic country escaping so lightly. 
 
 President Hollande admitted to suffering “pain” in his private life, but he refused to comment on reports that he is having an affair with a 41-year-old actress, Julie Gayet. He declined to say whether his official companion Valérie Trierweiler should still be considered France’s First Lady. He said that a statement would be made before 11 February when the French first couple are expected to visit the Obamas at the White House. 
 
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 “Everyone in his private life can go through ordeals,” President Hollande said. “That is what is happening to us. 
 
 “These are painful moments. But I have a principle that private matters are dealt with in private. This is neither the place nor the time to do so.” 
 
 Asked about the health of Ms Trierweiler, 49, who is in hospital recovering from a “severe case of the blues”, Mr Hollande said curtly: “She is resting. I have nothing else to say.” 
 
 So much for the private man. The other Hollande – the Socialist statesman and would-be saviour of France – was in more loquacious form. He spent most of a two-and-a-half hour press conference explaining a sharp lurch in his economic policy towards a more market-driven, supply-side approach. 
 
 Over the next three years, a whole €30bn section of the French welfare state – family policy – will be cut or funded in a different way, he said. This would substantially ease the payroll taxes, or social charges, which weigh heavily on the cost of labour in France. 
 
 Abuses and excesses in the welfare state would be attacked. In return, employers must commit to creating tens of thousands of new jobs. 
 
 There would be a drive to cut the sprawling French state apparatus, examining all policies anew and saving an extra €50bn (on top of €15bn in savings this year). Entire areas of local government could be merged or abolished. 
 
 Here, too, Mr Hollande played the tight-rope walker. He said that these proposals were not a “U-turn” or a new departure, just an “acceleration” or “deepening” of what he has done in the last 20 months. Two minutes later he boasted that his proposed “responsibility pact” was the “most radical social compromise demanded of the French people for many decades”. 
 
 The second statement is nearer the truth. Although Mr Hollande was light on detail, the thrust of his proposals is revolutionary in French terms. He said that by cutting the state, he wanted to create a “virtuous circle” of growth and confidence. 
 
 Mr Hollande did take a couple of other questions on “l’affaire Gayet” without confirming or denying that the man pictured in a motorcycle helmet leaving her flat on 31 December was indeed him. He would not sue Closer magazine for publishing the images, he said, though his “indignation was total” at the breach of his right to privacy. 
 
 Yes, he agreed the legal status of the French First Lady – at present she has none – should be made clear. Mr Hollande promised “transparency” on the subject 
 
 Mr Hollande was elected in May 2012 as Mr Normal; the safe-pair-of-hands; the man who would not scare the horses; the anti-Sarko; the antidote to President Moi. He found himself fending off questions about nocturnal motorcycle escapades and a distraught, unmarried partner. One journalist complained that potentially hostile questioners were being by-passed. 
 
 Can Mr Hollande’s presidency recover? His popularity had already fallen to depths not previously plumbed by presidents of the Fifth Republic. An opinion poll – taken in the two days after Closer magazine revealed Mr Hollande’s affair – showed a slight upturn in the number of French people who approve of the President. 
 
 According to the Ipsos poll for Le Point magazine, Mr Hollande is now liked by 24 per cent of voters, compared to 23 per cent in December. At that rate another 26 escapades with actresses would put Mr Hollande back in the electoral black. 
 
 According to one interpretation of Mr Hollande’s hand-brake turn on economic policy, he knows that he has already blown his chances of re-election in 2017. He is engaged in a kamikaze reform policy, like Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in Germany a decade ago. 
 
 Mr Hollande has always been a social democrat. His party remains largely unreconstructed. He waved red flags (attacking Big Finance and promising a 75 per cent tax on the super-rich) in order to win election. In power, he has, until now, followed a shuffling course, neither old fashioned statist tax-and-spender nor full-blooded reformer. 
 
 To succeed even in kamikaze reforms Mr Hollande will need respect and authority. Both have been diminished by the image of a furtive president leaving his girlfriend’s flat in a motorcycle helmet. 

 Story highlights Francois Hollande says he'll clarify status of first lady before February trip to U.S. 
 
 Hollande says personal affairs should be dealt with in private 
 
 A French magazine has alleged he is having an affair with actress Julie Gayet 
 
 France's first lady, Valerie Trierweiler, was hospitalized after the report surfaced 
 
 French President Francois Hollande said he and France's first lady were going through "painful moments," as he faced questions Tuesday over an alleged affair with an actress. 
 
 In his first appearance before the media since the allegations surfaced in the French tabloid Closer linking Hollande romantically to actress Julie Gayet , the President was immediately asked about his personal life when he handed the floor to journalists following a nearly 40-minute speech. 
 
 Asked whether his partner, Valerie Trierweiler, was still the first lady of France, Hollande said personal affairs should be dealt with in private. 
 
 "Everybody in their personal lives can go through hardships. This is the case for us," he said. 
 
 "These are painful moments, but I have one principle: Private affairs are dealt with in private. This is not the place nor the time to do this." 
 
 Hollande and Trierweiler are expected next month on a state visit to the United States at the invitation of President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle. Their itinerary includes a February 11 state dinner at the White House. 
 
 Speaking at the Elysee Palace to outline his new-year plans for the economy, Hollande said he would clarify the situation before the February trip. 
 
 The allegations, which emerged Friday, have sparked a media firestorm of a kind not usually seen in France, where privacy is closely guarded. Trierweiler was hospitalized shortly after the report appeared. 
 
 "Catastrophic scenario" 
 
 According to French national daily Le Monde, Hollande's news conference -- the first of 2014 and only his third in office -- was supposed to be a chance for the embattled leader, who has seen his popularity slump since his 2012 election, to relaunch his agenda. 
 
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 Instead, it is a "catastrophic scenario," the newspaper reported -- with him trying to deal with questions about his private life as briefly as possible and turn the focus back to economic matters. 
 
 Jean-Francois Cope, leader of the opposition UMP, told television channel France 5 over the weekend that the allegations were "disastrous for the image of the presidential office," adding that the story was dominating international media coverage of France. 
 
 Former Prime Minister Alain Juppe, also of the UMP, is quoted by CNN affiliate BFMTV as saying that "many people overseas who specialize in 'French bashing' are having a field day." 
 
 Asked if there should be moves to formalize the position of the first lady -- in contrast to the United States, the partner of the French president has no defined status -- Juppe said that might not be the solution. 
 
 "In France, we love status. We can create a status for the first lady and for the second lady as well, perhaps," he joked. 
 
 Hospitalization 
 
 Patrice Biancone, head of Trierweiler's Elysee office, told CNN on Sunday the first lady had been hospitalized since Friday. He said she "needed rest" and he hoped she would leave the hospital early this week. 
 
 "We all know why she went in after the story came out," said Biancone, clearly making the link between the revelations of the magazine and Trierweiler's hospitalization. 
 
 Hollande, 59, left his longtime common-law wife, Segolene Royal -- the mother of his four children -- for Trierweiler, 48, before the 2012 presidential election. 
 
 The two are not married but live together, and she makes official state appearances. 
 
 They met when Trierweiler was a reporter for Paris Match magazine. She still works for the publication. 
 
 Right to privacy 
 
 Hollande did not tackle the claims in the Closer article head-on as he announced ideas to tackle unemployment and measures such as deep public spending cuts to boost economic growth, which he said had to be "as vigorous as possible." 
 
 The story has however prompted questions in French media about Hollande's right to privacy, whether his security may have been jeopardized during his alleged liaisons, and Trierweiler's future status as first lady. 
 
 Asked whether his security was jeopardized in this case, the President said, "My security is insured everywhere and all times. Privately I go around with less security. People should not worry." 
 
 Hollande has not confirmed or denied the alleged affair but has threatened legal action . A statement from his entourage Friday to news agency Agence France-Presse said Hollande "deeply condemns the attacks on the right to privacy which he has a right to like every other citizen." 
 
 A survey last month by French polling organization Ifop gave Hollande an approval rating of 22%, a rise of 2 percentage points from the previous month, when he hit a record low. 
 
 Hollande, who was elected after campaigning to put growth before austerity and introduce higher taxes on the rich, has been urged by his European partners and international institutions to be bolder with his economic reforms. 
 
 France's faltering economic performance last year, accompanied by stubbornly high unemployment figures, led to fears the second-biggest economy in the eurozone could act as a brake on the region's fragile recovery.
– French President Francoise Hollande is giving a news briefing, technically about France's economy, but the BBC reports that the very first question he took was about reports that he cheated on his girlfriend, who is currently in the hospital. The question: "Is Valerie Trierweiler still first lady?" Hollande refused to answer that specifically, but said he would address the issue before his trip to the US next month, and that the press conference was not the correct time or place. "Everyone in his private life can go through difficult periods, these are difficult moments," Hollande said, according to the Independent. "But I have one principle—that private matters should be dealt with privately." Today's press conference is just the third of Hollande's presidency, and the first time he has faced the media since the cheating rumors surfaced, CNN notes. Interestingly, Time reports, Hollande's dismal approval rating actually went up 2 points to 26% after the report came out, according to one poll.