François Hollande is facing the toughest week of his presidency, in which he faces a Herculean task convincing France that he is not a fraud on a political and personal level.
The embattled Socialist leader is said to have been working feverishly in recent days on outlining a credible plan to wrest the eurozone's second-largest economy out of decline with business-friendly reforms.
But his reformist PR drive now risks being totally overshadowed by allegations about a secret love affair with Julie Gayet, a 41-year old actress. With the opposition Right now baying for blood over the president's "unbearable lightness of being", all eyes are on how he handles both issues when he faces media for up to two hours in the traditional start-of-year news conference on Tuesday.
Read more from Henry Samuel in the Telegraph
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