By Peter Allen
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He swapped her for a younger woman.
Then she tried to stop him becoming president of France.
But Francois Hollande is on course to make former partner Segolene Royal the most powerful female politician in the country, despite the bitterness of their separation after 30 years and four children together.
Appointment: President-elect Francois Hollande (left) has said he will make his ex-wife Segolene Royal (right) the most powerful woman in France
President-elect Mr Hollande and fellow Socialist Miss Royal still have their personal differences and she does not get on with his current partner Valerie Trierweiler, a journalist 11 years her junior.
Only last year, while Mr Hollande and his former partner were contesting the Socialist nomination for the presidency, Miss Royal said: ‘Can anyone recall anything Francois Hollande has done in 30 years?’
But now Miss Royal, 58, has indicated that she will become president of the National Assembly â€" France’s parliament â€" when Mr Hollande announces his cabinet after his inauguration next week. The job is considered the most prestigious in France after president and prime minister.
She was asked on French television if it would be the right job for her. ‘I think so,’ she replied with a beaming smile, adding that it would help her ‘diversify my experiences’ and make her ‘more useful to the Left’.
French kiss: The new 'first lady' Valerie Trierweiler and President-elect Hollande in an onstage show of affection during the victory rally in Paris
However she said: ‘The moment has not come for self-celebration or to put myself forward as a candidate.’
Miss Royal, who has always been a controversial figure, was also asked if she expected some Socialist MPs to be resentful if she did get the job, and replied: ‘Everything will be fine.’
She angered many in the party by wanting to stand as presidential candidate again this year, despite being beaten by Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007 in an election which was wide open for the Socialists to win after 12 years of the ineffectual Jacques Chirac.
But she is styling herself as the woman who helped sweep Mr Hollande, 57, to power. She said France ‘was not ready for a woman president’ in 2007 but claimed that many of her ideas were incorporated into Mr Hollande’s campaign.
Ms Trierweiler, the partner of Mr Hollande, has become the first unmarried 'Premier Dame' in French history
These included the Socialists adopting ‘Right-wing symbols’ such as the Tricolour and the Marseillaise into their rallies.
‘Lessons were learned’ from defeat in 2007, she added, and this ‘allowed the victory’ of Mr Hollande.
Following his election triumph over Mr Sarkozy on Sunday, Miss Royal made an emotional speech at the Place de la Bastille in Paris in which she placed herself at the centre of a new movement sweeping the country.
She said: ‘Thank you people of France! Thank you one and all. This victory is yours. And we are here to turn this victory into social and human progress.
Campaign trail: Valerie Trierweiler, 47, signs autographs during the presidency election campaign earlier this month
‘And with us, the banks will obey instead of commanding. There will be resistance, you will see. The power of money is still there.’
Miss Royal met Mr Hollande when they were both studying at ENA, the prestigious graduate school for France’s future administrators.
Despite their long relationship and the children they had together they never wed because both believe that marriage is a ‘bourgeois institution’.
They officially split in 2007, although Mr Hollande’s affair with Miss Trierweiler is known to have started long before.
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Dang ...that's complicated
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And yet in the French presidential debate he had the nerve to accuse Sarkozy of cronyism. Come back, Madame Guillotine. Your country needs you now.
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well its frence leadership, we should be glad they aren't brother and sister - bert, sc, USA, 11/5/2012 1:07 Big words from an American... *cough* Texas...
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Typical DM/DM readers - more interested in the guy's personal life than his political ability.
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well its frence leadership, we should be glad they aren't brother and sister
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Only in France?? What about our PM, the lovely Julia Gillard, who is also living 'unmarried' with her partner?
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He's just making sure his ex despite their past differences and his kids are on board the gravy train.
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They are more civilized than Canada here we have government that wishes to send women back to the 19 century... most of are holly rollers from canada bible belt
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I can never understand the French political system, like the US where the President is the political head. The "Westminister system" of Prime Minister and collective cabinet is far the better way of running a country.
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As Much as I Couldn't Stand Sarkozy, this couple seem like a Right bunch of Inexperienced Crackpots'!!! Will the French Ever Learn!!!!...........
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