Valerie Trierweiler, partner of French president Francois Hollande, tweeted Tuesday in support of Olivier Falorni's bid for a parliamentary seat in the city of La Rochelle: "Courage to Olivier Falorni who has done nothing he can be blamed for, who has fought selflessly alongside the people of La Rochelle for so many years." Which wouldn't be news, except that Falorni is running against Hollande's ex and the mother of his children, Segolene Royal.
The tweet, in French:
Courage à Olivier Falorni qui n'a pas démérité, qui se bat aux côtés des rochelais depuis tant d' années dans un engagement désintéressé.
Courage à Olivier Falorni qui n'a pas démérité, qui se bat aux côtés des rochelais depuis tant d' années dans un engagement désintéressé.-- Valerie Trierweiler
Angry that Hollande had endorsed Royal, Trierweiler supposedly told him, “You took a stand for Royal without telling me. You’ll see what I’m capable of!”
Royal fired back on Wednesday night, "I did not want to react yesterday because the blow was so violent. But that does not mean I didn't feel wounded by it, I am not a robot." She added, "I demand respect as the mother of a family whose children hear what is said."
It's hard to imagine a Twitter beef happening at the same level of American politics — when the country was buzzing about Barack Obama's ex Genevieve Cook, Michelle Obama was mum. She certainly never would have taken to Twitter to talk smack. It's intriguing to speculate about what would've happened if Cook had, say, run for Senate — in that case Michelle probably would've been asked about her, and probably would've said something polite.
Her tweets (which are mostly written by campaign staff) are exceedingly well-behaved. The most recent:
The First Lady just joined Pinterest—check out her special Father's Day board: http://t.co/K3hTKlfO
The First Lady just joined Pinterest—check out her special Father's Day board: http://t.co/K3hTKlfO-- Michelle Obama
Nothing against Pinterest, but sometimes the French are more fun to watch.