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Closer published images it says show one of Hollande’s bodyguards at the door to Gayet’s building, and a motorcyclist arriving to drop off a helmeted man on the night of Dec. 30 and escorting him away the next morning. Closer magazine told The Associated Press it has refused requests to withdraw the story.

“He’s a normal president, a normal person. He’s a president who fell in love… We’ve really got to get less dramatic over these pictures,” magazine editor Laurence Pieau told Europe-1 radio.

The magazine, known for suggestive photos and gossip, says the alleged affair raises questions about the president’s security, if he is sneaking out with a single bodyguard and travelling exposed on the back of a motorcycle.

It is unclear how a potential romantic scandal might affect Hollande’s presidency. Hollande’s popularity is already very low, largely over voter frustration at his failure to reduce unemployment and get the economy growing. Some French have passed the report off with nothing more than a Gallic shrug.

“Julie Gayet, I don’t even know who she is. I am not interested,” said 65-year-old Monique Beco. “He can do what he wants. He is not married.”

“Gets my attention? No. Shocks me? No. It’s his private life,” said 48-year-old Paula Douarte.

Julie Gayet, I don’t even know who she is. I am not interested. He can do what he wants. He is not married

Last year, according to French media reports, Gayet filed a lawsuit accusing some websites of invasion of privacy over reports on the alleged affair. Her lawyer issued a statement to Agence France-Presse at the time saying that she was targeting “a rumour spread on the Internet that attributes to her, without any basis, a romantic relationship with the president.”

The magazine says it conducted an investigation and claims that “there is, between Francois Hollande and Julie Gayet … a true passion that has turned their hearts upside down, rocked their lives and made them take foolish risks.”

It says the apartment is in the same Paris district as the president’s palace, and is Gayet’s but registered in the name of actor friends. It says the pair has been meeting there secretly since June.

Sylvie Corbet contributed to this report