Valerie Trierweiler’s presidential exposé to hit big screen

France’s former unofficial first lady Valerie Trierweiler’s account of her failed relationship with President Francois Hollande is set to hit the big screen, French media reported on Monday.

Actress and producer Saida Jawad, who is also a close friend of Trierweiler, told celebrity magazine Gala that she was developing an adaptation of the journalist’s political kiss-and-tell Thank You For This Moment (Merci Pour Ce Moment).

“Romarin Film, my production company, in agreement with Valerie, is currently developing an adaptation of the best-seller and envisages a co-production with French and international companies,” Jawad told the magazine.

“It will be fictionalised biopic in which the protagonist tells her story to a confidante, as a way of better understanding this political universe and the woman. I guarantee that we’ll unveil new things.”

Thank You For This Moment sparked a media storm when it was published in France in September 2014. France’s first ladies, official or otherwise, have traditionally kept the details of their private lives with presidents to themselves.

 Trierweiler’s decision to write a book about her relationship with Hollande and its messy unravelling following his election as president in 2012 both intrigued and shocked the French public.

A number of booksellers initially refused to stock the work but in spite of this it topped the French bestseller list in 2014, selling some 730,000 copies by the end of the year.

Jawad began her film industry career as an actress before setting up her own production company Romarin Films in 2009. To date it has focused on TV productions including the comedy Tanagra.

She is no stranger to political dramas.

Her big screen roles include politician Rachida Dati in Xavier Durringer’s political drama The Conquest capturing the drama behind the scenes of former President Nicola Sarkozy’s election in 2007.