Closer ordered to pay €15k damages
- Select a language for the TTS:
- UK English Female
- UK English Male
- US English Female
- US English Male
- Australian Female
- Australian Male
- Language selected: (auto detect) - EN
Play all audios:
CELEBRITY magazine Closer has been ordered to pay €15,000 damages to actress Julie Gayet.
The magazine caused a political storm in France in January by publishing photographs of President François Hollande, 59, and Ms Gayet, 41, arriving separately at a Paris apartment for
alleged trysts.
The Tribunal de Grande Instance in Nanterre this afternoon ordered the magazine to pay Ms Gayet’s €15,000 in damages - a fraction of the €50,000 plus €4,000 costs she had claimed.
Mr Hollande split with long-time partner Valerie Trierweiler, 49, following the scandal but, after expressing his “complete outrage” at a press conference on January 14, has since refused to
comment on his private life or the nature of his relationship with Ms Gayet.
During court hearings on March 6, Ms Gayet's lawyer Jean Ennochi said the actress had been “hounded” by the press.
“She was assaulted by swarms of photographers.... it was like a wild animal hunt,” he said.
Closer's lawyer Delphine Pando told the court the magazine was justified in publishing the photographs.
She said they were in the public interest because they raised questions about presidential security.