Several English rags are publishing rumors that Julie Gayet, President Hollande’s new mistress, might be 4 months pregnant. The rumor is said to have been started on Twitter, subsequently removed, but taken up, mostly, by the foreign press.

True to my observations about cultural differences, French papers are quieter on the subject and more guarded. Among serious publications, I only see l’Express with an article that includes the following: “La rumeur a été lancée sur les réseaux sociaux : l’actrice Julie Gayet serait enceinte de 4 mois. Une folle rumeur, qui n’a pas du tout été confirmée par des sources fiables.”

Today, I discovered another possible cultural difference between the French and Anglos: Whereas I saw weakness in his withholding information about his affair – both regarding his relationship with Julie Gayet and whether Valérie Trierweiler was still “Première Dame de France” — most journalists seem to have interpreted it only as avoidance of specifying “first girlfriend.” (What a ridiculous term!) It never would have occurred to me that he could take a recent mistress on an official visit. Is that cultural?