President Francois Hollande has written a letter supporting partner Valerie Trierweiler in her defamation suit against authors of a tell-all biography, lawyers said on Monday, prompting accusations of political interference.
Trierweiler brought the case against the authors of the "La Frondeuse", or "The Rebel", a saga detailing the former journalist's relations with France's political elite including Hollande himself and his ex-partner Segolene Royal.
Lawyers for Trierweiler, who is seeking 80,000 euros in damages, produced the letter in a Paris court as evidence supporting allegations of defamation and invasion of privacy by the two writers and their publishing house, Moment.
In tiny, handwritten script on paper with no presidential markings, Hollande criticises the authors for "pure invention" in a passage concerning him.
The Socialist president was acting as a private citizen when he wrote the letter because the passage in question concerned him directly, an official in his office told Reuters.
Critics accused Hollande of using his political clout to influence the outcome of the case.
"We are witnessing a total confusion of roles in the executive branch whereby the president...
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