By Peter Allen
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France's 'unofficial' first lady has spoken for the first time about the Tweet scandal which turned her into a pariah ? saying she will 'count to ten' before sending another.
Valerie Trierweiler, the girlfriend of President Francois Hollande, was attacked for sending a message supporting a rival of Segolene Royale in parliamentary elections last month.
Ms Royale is the mother of Mr Hollande's four children and a bitter enemy of the new first lady, despite the fact that they are both committed Socialists.
Valerie Trierweiler, left, was attacked for sending a message supporting a rival of Segolene Royale, right, in parliamentary elections last month
Ms Royale ended up losing the election, and her career as a politician is in tatters following the Tweet.
Last week Thomas Hollande, the eldest son of President Hollande and Ms Royale, was among those who poured scorn on Ms Trierweiler, confirming that he never wanted to see her again after she destroyed his 'Mr Normal' image.
Now Ms Trierweiler has chosen the Bastille Day weekend to tell the BFMTV station that: 'I will turn my thumb seven times before Tweeting'.
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This is a play on the popular saying that you should turn your tongue seven times before saying anything controversial.
She also told French TV that: 'I will count to 10 before tweeting'.
But despite the conciliatory words, there was no apology for Ms Royale, and Ms Trierweiler's message remains online on her public Twitter account.
Instead it was left to Mr Hollande himself to try and diffuse the row between his current and former lover.
In a televised Bastille Day address, Mr Hollande said: 'I am for a clear distinction between public and private life. I believe private matters should be regulated in private and I have asked those close to me to respect this.'
Francois Hollande, pictured with the Queen during a state visit to the UK, has tried to distance himself from the row
Mr Hollande also said that there would be no official 'first lady' status for Ms Trierweiler, despite the fact that she retains an office in the Elysee Palace and 'will be at my side when protocol demands.'
Mr Hollande took obvious care not to be pictured with Ms Trierweiler during the Bastille Day parade in Paris on Saturday.
The President also left the divorced mother-of-three at home in Paris when he travelled to London for meetings with both Prime Minister David Cameron and the Queen last Tuesday.
However, Ms Trierweiler was with Mr Hollande when he attended more low-key events around France over the weekend, including a visit to the western port of Brest, and to an art gallery in Avignon, in the south.
Eyebrows have been raised at the way Ms Trierweiler has carried on working as a professional journalist since Mr Hollande came to power, especially as she writes for the glossy and often sensationalist magazine, Paris Match.
Thomas Hollande, a 27-year-old lawyer, is among those who have suggested that Ms Trierweiler should choose between her role as consort to the President of France and her journalistic career.
Mr Hollande lived with Ms Royal, herself a former Presidential candidate, for more than 30 years after they met as students.
But the relationship waned as their careers took off, and Mr Hollande started an affair with Ms Trierweiler as she followed him on the political circuit in around 2005.
She now writes book reviews for Match, but has pledged not to betray her privileged position in the Elysee Palace to report on political life.
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