French PM sues publisher of biography for violating privacy

PARIS — France’s Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne is suing a French publisher over a book that makes references to her sexual orientation and family life.

Borne’s lawyer is requesting that passages of the book “La Secrète,” written by the French journalist Bérengère Bonte, “making reference to her health and sexual orientation” should be removed from further editions of the book, according to the complaint filed by Borne and quoted by the AFP.

Content “referring to Borne’s family life … [does] not figure in the scope of a legitimate freedom to inform the public,” the document reads. The French prime minister is also requesting €5,001 in damages and legal fees, her lawyer Emilie Sudre told the AFP.

In a statement, the publishers Archipel defended the work of Bonte. “This book […] is the product of a year-long investigation, of dozens of interviews, including two long interviews with Elisabeth Borne, as well as with top members of her cabinet, her family and her close friends, with [the prime minister’s] approval,” Archipel said in a statement.

Borne has fielded questions about her sexual orientation in the past, including in an interview with the LGBTQI+ magazine Têtu. “If I was in a relationship with a woman, I don’t know why I wouldn’t have said so,” she said.

The prime minister has referred in past interviews to her companion as a man but said she didn’t want to expose him or her private life.