Thank You for This Moment

Merci pour ce moment (English:Thank you for this moment) is a 2014 best-selling political memoir authored by Valérie Trierweiler, a French journalist and the former partner of French President François Hollande.

Merci pour ce moment
First edition
AuthorsValérie Trierweiler
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
GenrePolitical memoir
PublisherLes Arènes
Publication date
4 September 2014
Pages320

Summary edit

In this political memoir, French journalist Valérie Trierweiler recounts the eighteen months she spent as the romantic partner of French President François Hollande in 2013–2014.[1] The book mixes the political and the personal.[1]

Trierweiler writes that President Hollande "does not like the poor" and calls them "toothless."[2][3] She also writes about finding out about his affair with French actress Julie Gayet from the press.[4][5] She goes on to suggest he kept her on "astronomical" amounts of tranquilizers in hospital shortly after they broke up to make sure she would not make a scene.[2]

Critical reception edit

In France, the book became a bestseller, selling 200,000 copies during the first week.[2] However, many bookshops refused to sell it, arguing they did not want to be an "outlet for Ms Trierweiler's dirty laundry."[2]

In The Guardian, Kim Willsher criticised Trierweiler for publishing the book, asking, "Why would an intelligent, sophisticated woman, and a former political journalist to boot, write a book that causes random harm to so many, including the author, and does such a great disservice to women?"[6]

The English version was translated by Clémence Sebag.[7] It was scheduled to be released in the United States.[8] The book has also been translated into Italian, Spanish, Albanian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Vietnamese and Persian.[9][10]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Trierweiler publie un livre où se mêlent l'intime et la politique, Le Monde, 03 September 2014
  2. ^ a b c d Andrew Marszal David Chazan, French booksellers refuse to stock Valerie Trierweiler's 'dirty laundry' memoirs, The Daily Telegraph, 6 September 2014
  3. ^ Ella Alexander, Valerie Trierweiler claims she was drugged with 'astronomical doses of tranquillisers' to prevent her from Francois Hollande affair scandal, The Independent, 5 September 2014
  4. ^ Catherine Schwaab, Valérie Trierweiler, "Ma vie avec François", Paris Match, 03 September 2014
  5. ^ AFP, Valérie Trierweiler publie un livre sur sa vie à l'Elysée, Liberation, 02 September 2014
  6. ^ Kim Willsher, Valérie Trierweiler’s book is captivating France – for all the wrong reasons, The Guardian, 6 September 2014
  7. ^ Hadley Freeman, Thank You for This Moment by Valérie Trierweiler review – a triumph of self-obsessed raving, The Guardian, 10 December 2014
  8. ^ Delphine Perez, Valérie Trierweiler : son livre sortira aux Etats-Unis, Le Parisien, 05 September 2014
  9. ^ "Iranian copies of the Persian translated copy of 'Thank you for this..." Getty Images (in German). Retrieved 2015-12-04.
  10. ^ 2 News, Bombshell memoirs of French Prez's ex-girlfriend to be released in English