From the time of kings and emperors to modern-day presidents, the Elysee Palace has stood as a symbol of male dominance in society and politics. Behind the wrought iron gates its gilded salons have witnessed conquests of many kinds — including, frequently, the sexual.
Now a prominent historian has argued that, just as French society is changing with the #MeToo movement and greater scrutiny of predatory behavior, so too must the country’s presidents.
“In the past, it was almost a mark of prestige that a man of power like the president had a mistress, almost as a kind of gauge that he was a true leader, even if these dominant males were almost a kind of predator,” said Jean Garrigues, author of a new book on the Elysee’s scandalous past. “The behavior of French presidents was like that of a monarch. Today, this type of behavior that treats women as objects and trophies is no longer accepted in society.
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“We have the #MeToo movement. We don’t tolerate the subjugating of women or that they are some kind of hunting trophy. The erotic story of the Elysee shows us the evolution of our society,” he said.
“It’s the first time we’ve seen advisers working this hard,” an unnamed butler, who was described as having worked at the presidential palace for 40 years, told Le Figaro magazine. “We’re bored stiff at the Elysee. No one bonks any more. Before you had to knock two or three times at doors to be certain not to interrupt someone in a compromising position.”
Another anonymous witness told the magazine: “With this administration, all the libido of power is going into drawing up technical notes.”
In Une histoire erotique de l’Elysee, Garrigues details how the palace has been at the center of some of the country’s most notorious sex scandals for 300 years.
The Elysee was commissioned by the Count of Evreux, who used the dowry of his 12-year-old wife, Marie-Anne Crozat, daughter of Paris’ richest man. No sooner was it completed than Evreux bundled Marie-Anne into a carriage during the inauguration ball, ordered the driver to take her to their country home and installed his mistress in the property.
Shortly afterwards, Louis XV acquired the property for his mistress, the Marquise de Pompadour, who held lavish parties where she would pick young women to have sex with the king, Garrigues said.
Since 1848, the Elysee has been the official home of French presidents, and while at least two, Charles de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou, were faithful, others were decidedly not.
This arguably reached a peak during the 1981-1995 rule of Francois Mitterrand, who was most notorious for keeping a secret second family installed in an annex of the Elysee, with the knowledge of his long-suffering wife, Danielle.
Mitterrand had many other affairs, and his behavior bordered on harassment, Garrigues said.
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