Francois Hollande is considering legal action after a magazine reported the French president was having an affair with actress Julie Gayet.
"Francois Hollande greatly deplores the invasion of his privacy, to which he has a right as any other citizen does. He is studying what action, including legal action, to take following this publication,"
a source from within his office told Reuters on Friday.
On Friday, the French magazine Closer published a seven-page article in which it revealed a man it claimed was Hollande sneaking into Gayet's home under the headline "Francois Hollande and Julie Gayet – The President's Secret Love."
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In the pictures, a man resembling Hollande's bodyguard arrives first, followed by a second man on the back of a scooter which the magazine alleges is the French president. The individual's identity is masked by a black helmet.
"Around New Year's Day, a helmeted head of state joined the actress at her apartment, where he has got into the habit of spending the night,"
Closer wrote on its website, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Hollande, 59, did not deny the alleged affair, however immediately protested the magazine's decision to publish the photos, which he claimed was an invasion of his privacy
telling Agence France-Presse that the report was an "attack on the right to privacy," to which he "like every other citizen has a right [to]."
Gayet, 41, similarly did not deny the affair, but asked Closer, through her attorney, for the photos to be removed from their website. Closer complied.
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Hollande, a father of four, is in a domestic partnership with French journalist Valérie Trierweiler.
Gayet, who is married with two children, is a prominent actress in both film and television in France, having appeared in more than 50 films during her career. Additionally, she was also featured in one of Hollande's 2012 election commercials.
In 2012, the same French magazine was criticized
for publishing topless photos of Kate Middleton, Britain's Duchess of Cambridge.