Mr Sarkozy allegedly approached political journalist Ms Trierweiler at a Bastille Day garden party two months after being elected president in 2007, whispering: 'You are beautiful. We should see each other'. But Ms Trierweiler, who was already dating Mr Hollande, is said to have hit back with a flat rejection³, later calling him 'a boor⁴（粗野的人）'.

 

Mr Sarkozy, whose marriage was on the verge⁵ of collapse⁶, took the refusal badly, writes biographer Patrice Machuret. According to the tale the leader recoiled⁷（畏缩，弹回）, remarking: 'Who does she think she is?'.

 

Divorcing Cecilia Ciganer, he had already dated a number of political journalists - and wrongly took Ms Trierweiler to be 'an opportunist', Mr Machuret writes in His Life After The Elysee. Months after the alleged² incident, reported by The Times, Mr Sarkozy met his bride-to-be, model Carla Bruni.

 

But from that moment on, he appeared to hold a grudge⁸ against Ms Trierweiler, Mr Machuret writes. It has been taken by many as an explanation for the apparent feud⁹ between Ms Trierweiler and Mr Sarkozy at every public appearance since Mr Hollande was elected in 2012. At Nelson Mandela's funeral in Johannesburg, Mr Sarkozy is said to have ridiculed¹⁰ Ms Trierweiler's hat.

 

He said it made her look like François Mitterrand, the last French socialist¹¹ president, joking: 'There were three French presidents at the funeral: Me, François Hollande and François Mitterrand,' Machuret writes.

 

A month later, she was dumped by Mr Hollande after it emerged he was having an affair with actress Julie Gayet. Representatives of Mr Sarkozy have denied that he 'made a play for' Ms Trierweiler, said Machuret.

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