Pink wages Twitter war with 'cruel' Selena Gomez over use of painted horse in new music video

Disney sweetheart Selena Gomez has come under fire for painting a horse pink for her latest video shoot.
The 18-year-old was spotted filming a clip for her new single I Love You Like A Love Song on Malibu yesterday with a brightly coloured stead.
But she quickly attracted criticism from another pop star - Pink.
The outspoken Stupid Girls singer, who is a PETA ( People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) supporter, lashed out at the teen star on Twitter.
Controversial: Selena Gomez filmed scenes from her new music video I Love You Like A Love Song alongside a pink horse on the beach in Malibu, California, yesterday
Controversial: Selena Gomez filmed scenes from her new music video I Love You Like A Love Song alongside a pink horse on the beach in Malibu, California, yesterday
Pink, who has over 4 million followers on the social networking site, tweeted: 'If there are any animal activists around Malibu-at Leo Cabrillo State beach, there are horses being painted for a stupid music video. Shame.'
'Artists should be more aware and responsible for their actions,' she continued.
After hoards of Selena fans then defended their idol, Pink posted a further message standing by her opinions.
'Whether u r a fan of mine or whomEVER'S, I won't stop speaking out about animal cruelty.'
'I've taken responsibility in the past, so should she.'
Shall we dance: In another scene, the Disney star frolicked on the sand in a ball gown with a love interest
Shall we dance: In another scene, the Disney star frolicked on the sand in a ball gown with a love interest
However a representative for the record company insists that no animals were harmed during filming.
'It was important to the Production Company, Record Label and Ms. Gomez that no animals were harmed and all proper precautions were taken,' Gomez's spokesperson said in a statement to People magazine.
'A non toxic, vegetable based powder paint was applied via an airbrush and removed with water. An official from the Humane Society was on set supervising.'
Selena filmed a fanciful scenes while on location.
Wearing a flowing strapless floor-length gown and with her dark hair worn long and straight, the former Disney star danced in the surf with a handsome male love interest.
Selena has been hard at work on her new album, When The Sun Goes Down, which comes out next week. 
On her high horse: Pink took to her Twitter to criticise the Disney star
On her high horse: Pink took to her Twitter to criticise the Disney star

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Now that's a thigh-ful! Tommy Hilfiger's wife puts on a leggy show on date night

While most celebrities are sunning themselves on the French Riviera and enjoying the lavish events of the Cannes Film Festival, a select few stayed behind in Hollywood.
Tommy Hilfiger and his wife Dee Ocleppo were spotted leaving a restaurant in West Hollywood, California, last night.
The pair were all smiles as they walked arm in arm down the stairs towards the valet area to pick up their car.
Thighs the limit: Tommy Hilfiger and his wife Dee Ocleppo were spotted out in Los Angeles yesterday
Thighs the limit: Tommy Hilfiger and his wife Dee Ocleppo were spotted out in Los Angeles yesterday
A shy looking Dee, who married the fashion mogul in 2008, tried to hide behind her animal print clutch bag but was clearly in a good mood as she burst into fits of giggles.
Both Tommy, 60, and his wife were fancily dressed with Tommy wearing chinos with a button-down shirt and a preppy-looking navy blazer.
The veteran designer, despite the smart attire, appeared to be wearing his slippers fort the outing.
Dee, meanwhile looked stunning in a sleep black silk dress with huge, thigh baring slits up the front which she paired with platform black stilettos. 
Dinner date: Tommy's wife of two years tried t hide behind her animal print purse
Dinner date: Tommy's wife of two years tried t hide behind her animal print purse
The pair were clearly enjoying there date night out together having left their 18-month-old son Sebastian at home.
Sebastian was Tommy's fifth child - he had four children from his previous marriage to ex-wife Susie.
Just last year, Tommy sold his Hilfiger clothing empire to Philips Van Heusen, the owner of Calvin Klein, for a staggering $3 billion.

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The lacy way to banish VPL: Knickers designed to be worn under tight trousers and clingy dresses

It can be the most eye-catching part of a woman’s outfit – but for all the wrong reasons.
Now the dreaded visible panty line, or VPL, could become a thing of the past thanks to knickers specially designed to be worn under clingy summer dresses and tight trousers.
But unlike traditional big briefs – which give no VPL but can resemble the unattractive flesh-coloured briefs sported by Bridget Jones – the lacy underwear looks good when the dress is off, too.
Smooth: The pants are made from lace No VPL: Lines or bumps cannot be seen
Cheeky cut: The lace Bandeau knickers are flush with skin and right, the vanishing act, which shows no lumps of lines
Take note, Trinny and Susannah: You too can avoid VPL with the new M&S underwear
Take note, Trinny and Susannah: You too can avoid VPL thanks to M&S
The knickers, called the Bandeau, have a wide band of lace which sits snugly on the hips but will not dig in – unlike thongs, which not every woman finds comfortable to wear.
They are also cut higher on the leg than boy-short style pants, giving a feminine look which flatter legs by making them appear longer.
 The knickers, which cost £5 each or £10 for three at Marks & Spencer, come in black, white, nude, hot pink and marine blue and go on sale next month.
Soozie Jenkinson, head of lingerie design at M&S, said: ‘It’s time to chuck out those greying Bridget Jones big pants and say hello to the newest knicker on the block, the Bandeau.
‘Using stretch lace and slinky microfibre, we’ve designed this new knicker to be not only flattering and stylish but incredibly comfortable to wear.’
Unlike traditional big briefs - which give no VPL but can resemble the unattractive flesh-coloured briefs sported by Bridget Jones - the lacy underwear looks good when the dress is off, too
Unlike traditional big briefs - which give no VPL but can resemble the unattractive flesh-coloured briefs sported by Bridget Jones (above) - the lacy underwear looks good when the dress is off, too

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'I lost my virginity to Simon Cowell at 16... but it was all downhill from there': Face of the Eighties, Paula Hamilton reveals how her life started to spiral out of control

Model Paula Hamilton, one of the most famous faces of the 1980s, has revealed that she lost her virginity to Simon Cowell. Miss Hamilton, 50, star of the  decade’s iconic Volkswagen Golf  TV commercial, says she was 16 at  the time.
She says in today’s Daily Mail Weekend magazine that she lost her virginity to ‘a boy called Simon’ – the man who grew up to be the X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent Svengali whose fortune is valued at £200million.
Face of the eighties: Paula Hamilton has revealed that Simon Cowell was her first lover when she was 16
Face of the eighties: Paula Hamilton has revealed that Simon Cowell was her first lover when she was 16
She and Cowell were childhood sweethearts while growing up in leafy Hertfordshire in the 1970s, she said.
She also claimed that, in contrast to his Mr Nasty image on TV, he was ‘very, very protective’ and stopped teachers vilifying her.
She went on: ‘I couldn’t read or write until I was 11. So I was called stupid and bullied by teachers. Simon was really important to me because he stopped them picking on me.’
As well as being her adolescent knight in shining armour, Cowell could also be a rebel. According to Miss Hamilton – a reformed alcoholic and cocaine addict – the first time she was ever drunk was with Cowell.
‘He was funny and rebellious like me,’ she said. ‘Alcohol made the feelings inside me go away.’
Discovered by photographer David Bailey, Miss Hamilton became one of the modelling stars of the 1980s.
Protective: Cowell in 1985 with Sinitta, who has remained a close friend throughout his life
Protective: Cowell in 1985 with Sinitta, who has remained a close friend throughout his life
Her role in the 1987 VW Golf ad symbolised the growing economic independence of British women. In it, she is seen leaving a house, flinging off her pearls and her wedding ring, but keeping the keys to the car.
‘If only everything in life was as reliable as a Volkswagen,’ ran the tagline.
In the intervening years, Miss Hamilton has struggled with her addictions and a complicated personal life.

She had a brief marriage to a cameraman in 1987 as well as a disastrous affair with the billionaire former Conservative party vice-chairman Lord Ashcroft. In the 1990s she was  engaged to film-maker Henry Cole.
Miss Hamilton also tells Weekend how she had an affair with cricketer Ed Giddins, who played four Test matches for England and is more than ten years her junior. The pair met while filming the new Channel 4 show Celebrity Five Go To… South Africa.
Miss Hamilton – who has been diagnosed with dyslexia and dyspraxia – said she had her first ‘grown-up’ relationship with Giddins, 39, although they are now just friends.
Cowell, 51, was engaged to singer Sinitta and had a six-year relationship with TV presenter Terri Seymour. He is engaged to make-up artist Mezhgan Hussainy, 37. His spokesman was unavailable for comment.
Now read the interview in full
Paula Hamilton was 16 when she lost her virginity to ‘a boy called Simon’. They’d known one another from the age of 12 and he was, she says, ‘very, very protective of me’. ‘I couldn’t read or write until I was 11,’ she explains. ‘So I was called stupid and bullied by teachers. Simon was really important to me because he stopped them picking on me.’
What she neglects to mention, though, is that this Simon is, in fact, Simon Cowell. Why? Well, it just hasn’t occurred to her. That first love was 34 years ago now, but Paula still lights up when she talks about Cowell. ‘He was funny and rebellious like me,’ she says. ‘The first time I got drunk was with Simon. Alcohol made the feelings inside me go away.’
Paula was the ‘face of the Eighties’ who powered through that decade on drugs, drink and outrageous behaviour, throwing away a successful modelling career as carelessly as she chucked away her pearls, fur and wedding ring (but not the car keys) in a memorable advert for a VW Golf.
Today: Paula Hamilton, 50, says that she is finally happy in her own skin
Today: Paula Hamilton, 50, says that she is finally happy in her own skin
Today, aged 50, she’s been sober for five years and, for the first time in her life, actually likes being in her flawless skin. So much so that she’s happy to chat openly about Cowell and any other lover I mention.
Yet Paula doesn’t get the art of conversation. In truth, she doesn’t get people at all. One moment, her bikini bottoms are around her ankles to show me she doesn’t have a single grey hair – ‘anywhere’; the next she’s juggling her surgically enhanced breasts, boasting, ‘These are cash and carry.’ In short, the Paula I meet is just as I expect: still stunningly beautiful but totally exasperating, with a mind spinning in different directions like a whirling dervish.
 I expected this because, beforehand, I’ve spoken to the dyslexia assessment specialist Katherine Kindersley. Four years ago, following exhaustive tests, she diagnosed Paula as suffering from severe dyslexia and dyspraxia (an impairment that affects the ability to organise one’s thoughts). While her verbal reasoning skills place her in the top five per cent of her age group, her ability to control her language
and thinking is like a child’s.
Astonishingly, despite the many years she’s spent in therapy, her condition went undetected until the age of 47. Instead, she was said to be bipolar, stuffed full of heavy-duty antidepressants and sent on her way. Today Paula manages her condition through the techniques Ms Kindersley has taught her, combined with a healthy diet. ‘When I was diagnosed I was euphoric. I thought, “Now I understand why I’ve never felt normal.”
In the spotlight: Paula in the VW Golf advert from 1987 that shaped her career
In the spotlight: Paula in the VW Golf advert from 1987 that shaped her career
‘After Katherine helped me read through her report I walked on air all the way home. I don’t get depressed any more. I have down days, but I’ve learnt how to manage myself – and actually like myself. I don’t let my emotions rule my head.’
Indeed, following her participation in a new TV show called Celebrity Five Go To… South Africa – which was filmed in Cape Town, where she spent her early years, Paula has had what she calls her first ‘grown-up’ relationship with fellow contestant and former England cricketer Ed Giddens. ‘I felt safe with Ed. He was very kind to me and very sweet. He normalised things. I did things I wouldn’t have been able to do without him and that made him very attractive.
‘After we made the series we dated and now we’re really good friends. Before I knew I had dyslexia and dyspraxia I didn’t know how to have a relationship. They’ve never lasted longer than two years. No man has ever understood me. But I didn’t know what was wrong with me then.’
Paula felt a stranger on Planet Earth long before she lost her virginity to Simon Cowell. ‘When my mother had a cross face on I couldn’t understand it. I’d get black spots in my eyes, I couldn’t hear a word she said and she’d slap me because she was frustrated. I never understood the effect my behaviour had. I didn’t know what I was doing wrong.’
Old flame: Paula says that first lover Simon Cowell was 'was funny and rebellious like me'
Old flame: Paula says that first lover Simon Cowell was 'was funny and rebellious like me'

Leaving apartheid South Africa for England with her family at the age of eight exacerbated Paula’s problems. Dyspraxics can’t cope easily with change, and she was so desperately behind in her education that, at nine, she was placed in infant classes to catch up. ‘How do you think that made me feel? I was humiliated, broken.’
Tragedy seems to have dogged Paula from the cradle. The product of an affair her mother had with a family friend, John Johnson, who was battered to death with a pickaxe handle during a drunken brawl in 1976, she had four younger halfsiblings. ‘I was supposed to be the grown-up in the family and there I was in the infants. It gave me no credibility in the family. I refused to cry after that. Mum could bash the living daylights out of me but she wouldn’t get a tear out of me.’
Paula never settled in at school and left at 16. She was 21 when she was discovered by photographer David Bailey and began to command fivefigure modelling fees. But within five years she was in rehab. ‘I was given my first hit of cocaine by my agent at the model agency. I’d been working non-stop and was just too tired to get on another plane. But he said, “Darling, you’re on a fast road to success. You have to work.” He gave me this white powder. I didn’t even know what to do with it. He said, have champagne with it. So I threw it in the champagne and drank it. I was hooked.
‘When I was in New York I was spending about £600 a week on cocaine. That was peanuts. I was making the sort of money Presidents earn. But I’d get high and say, “Let’s take a Learjet to Atlantic City” and that was another £15,000 blown.
‘Treatment changed my life because it showed me there was something very, very wrong with me. It also showed me there were a lot of people who had stuff wrong with them like me.
‘But then they got sober and they were happy. I got sober and still felt isolated. I was still making faux pas in social gatherings, so the pain and the isolation was still there.’
Paula returned to drink after seven years, embarking upon a disastrous, vodka-fuelled relationship with Army officer Sebastian Rhodes- Stampa. When he dumped her she tried to hang herself from the chandelier in her Brixton home.
Then I heard a creak and I landed on the floor with the chain and part of my ceiling around me... I couldn’t even kill myself
‘He’d asked me to marry him but his mother was appalled and he left me two days later. I got a stepladder and a bottle of vodka and whacked the chain from the chandelier round my neck. I was naked. I’m always naked at home. I chucked back the whole bottle and thought, “I don’t understand human beings. I don’t understand why I keep getting it wrong. Please let me murder myself.”
‘I kicked the ladder away. I saw myself in the mirror and I’d turned bright purple. I thought, “That’s so unattractive.” Then I heard a creak and I landed on the floor with the chain and part of my ceiling around me. I sat there and started to drunkenly laugh and cry. I couldn’t even kill myself.’
Paula checked into therapy for a final time five years ago, when she returned from New Zealand, where she had gone in 2000 to study business. She was penniless, drunk and in bad mental shape. Her mother took her to the family doctor, who said if she didn’t sort herself out she’d be dead. She was admitted to a psychiatric unit where she was diagnosed with bipolar.
But one of her sisters thought differently after noting similar behaviour patterns between a friend’s dyspraxic son and Paula. Paula threw away her antidepressants and began to research the condition, which led her in October 2007 to Katherine Kindersley and her recognition at long last of what was really wrong with her.
‘Knowing what I am is a bridge to normal living,’ she says. ‘I want all the kids with learning difficulties to have that break. I still want to understand more. I need to interact better – not talk across people, not lose my train of thought. But I am eccentric and I’ll always fight for the right to be peculiar.’ Which is , I can’t help but feel, a battle that’s been fought and won. And, I mean that in the nicest possible way.
Celebrity Five Go To South Africa, Monday, 5pm, Channel 4. www.workingwithdyslexia.com

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Chloe Sims snubs 'Marbs' for Dubai as she shows off her model figure in a pink bikini

Throughout the second series of The Only Way Is Essex, all anyone could talk about was getting in shape for their annual pilgrimage to Marbella.
But it appears one of their co-stars Chloe Sims wanted to go a bit further afield than 'Marbs' when she jetted off to Dubai.
The single mother, 29, showed off her slim figure and surgically-enhanced cleavage in a pink bikini as she soaked up the sun in the UAE.
In the pink: The Only Way Is Essex star Chloe Sims emerges from the sea after a cooling dip in Dubai
In the pink: The Only Way Is Essex star Chloe Sims emerges from the sea after a cooling dip in Dubai
After the second series of TOWIE wrapped on May 4, the stars of the show have been jetting out of their beloved home county to top up their tans.
As one of the only single stars of the show, Sims is currently looking for Mr Right after dismissing any speculation of a romance between her and club boss Mick Norcross.
She's admitted she is contemplating getting more breast surgery done because she doesn't like the shape of her boobs.
Surfs up: Sims recently admitted she wants to get her cosmetic-enhanced breasts done again because she doesn't like the shape
Surfs up: Sims recently admitted she wants to get her cosmetic-enhanced breasts done again because she doesn't like the shape
Sims first underwent cosmetic surgery following the birth of her six-year-old daughter Madison, taking her from a 34B to a 34DD.
She also has had Botox in her forehead, had lip fillers and had her teeth whitened.

 She said: 'I like big boobs. I never regret having them done. I want to change the shape of them.
'I didn't have any boobs and I want to feel more womanly. I always wanted bigger boobs as I felt out of proportion.
Monochrome: The model also showcased her figure in a black and white two-piece
Monochrome: The model also showcased her figure in a black and white two-piece
'I only had fillers because I thought I was getting lines like my nan around her mouth. I realise it was a mistake, though, and won’t be doing it again.’
Despite the time and money she had spent on her appearance, Sims admitted she still has insecurities.
She told Reveal magazine: 'I haven’t felt happy with my teeth or my mouth my whole life, but I refused to wear braces when I was a teen in case I was bullied more.

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It's Claudia Skinnier: Supermodel looks thinner than ever in see-through lace dress on red carpet

Like many model mothers, Claudia Schiffer would have felt the pressure to lose weight after having a baby.
But as she stepped onto the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival tonight, the German beauty, 40, looked skinnier than ever.
The mother-of-three, who gave birth to baby Cosima a year ago, looked gaunt in a sheer lace Dolce & Gabbana dress at the premiere of This Must Be The Place.
Vanishing curves: German supermodel Claudia Schiffer looked gaunt and thin at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of This Must Be The Place Vanishing curves: German supermodel Claudia Schiffer looked gaunt and thin at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of This Must Be The Place Vanishing curves: German supermodel Claudia Schiffer looked gaunt and thin at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of This Must Be The Place

Vanishing curves: German supermodel Claudia Schiffer looked gaunt and thin at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of This Must Be The Place
The revealing dress gave onlookers a clear view of her razorsharp collarbone and shoulderblades as she posed for the cameras.
Her modelling agency card gives her statistics as 34-24-36 - making her a UK size 6 (US size 10) - but her slender frame may suggest she's even thinner.

While the 5ft 11 model obviously has to be thin for her job, her super-skinny appearance suggests she may have a bit too much weight.
Too thin: Schiffer's weight loss could be down to breastfeeding her one-year-old daughter Cosima
Too thin: Schiffer's weight loss could be down to breastfeeding her one-year-old daughter Cosima
Schiffer has previously admitted the pounds just fall off her while breastfeeding, but also enlisted a personal trainer to get her back into shape for work following her three pregnancies.
She told Vogue magazine last year: 'Before my pregnancies, I was someone who had to watch their weight.
'I had a personal trainer, I was working out, I would never eat anything sweet. Anyway, I got pregnant and when I was breastfeeding it just came off. I can eat whatever I want. If I don't eat enough, I will lose weight.'
Va va voom: Schiffer looked curvier at a fashion event in London last September (left) and was famous for her shape as her career peak in the Nineties (right) Va va voom: Schiffer looked curvier at a fashion event in London last September (left) and was famous for her shape as her career peak in the Nineties (right)
Va va voom: Schiffer looked curvier at a fashion event in London last September (left) and was famous for her shape as her career peak in the Nineties (right)
Compare and contrast: Schiffer looked skinnier next to the other celebrities on the red carpet
Compare and contrast: Schiffer looked skinnier next to the other celebrities on the red carpet
When she leaped to fame in the Nineties alongside fellow supermodels Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista, they were much curvier than what we're used to seeing on the catwalk in 2011.
In an interview five years ago, Schiffer criticised some of her younger contemporaries for being too thin.
She told Germany's Bunte magazine: 'I was one of the fattest when I started.
The girl's got curves: American actress Rosario Dawson (left) looked stunning in a red strapless gown, while Gwen Stefani wore a Armani Prive peep-hole dress
'Fashion looks good on thin models, but when you look at today's models you cannot help but think there's something wrong.
'They are way too thin. It is only bones that stick out. Models have always been thin, but today, they are even thinner, which is unbelievable.'
Schiffer, who has a son Caspar, eight, and two daughters Clementine, six, and one-year-old Cosima with film-maker husband Matthew Vaughn, started doing pilates last summer to regain her pre-baby figure.
 Lady Victoria Hervey Marisa Berenson Clotilde Hesme

Under the flashbulbs: English socialite Lady Victoria Hervey wore an asymmetrical mini with long train, American model/actress Marisa Berenson opted for a sophisticated black column gown while French actress Clotilde Hesme wore an unusual Maison Martin Margiela creation
Her trainer David Higgins said at the time: 'She's been training with me at my Ten Pilates studio in Notting Hill. After the baby she was coming three times a week, but now she comes here every day. It's really high-intensity Pilates and she loves it, as opposed to the gym, which she absolutely hates.
'Obviously, a huge motivation for her is work: she knows she has to get herself back together. She has one of those amazing bodies that can do anything very quickly; she heals well, she gets the results fantastically quickly.'
Also at tonight's premiere was Rosario Dawson showing off her ample cleavage in a red strapless number and Gwen Stefani, who went for a quirky peep-hole Armani Prive gown.

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Dominique Strauss-Kahn: Sex, power and the French


French newspapers with headlines about Dominique Strauss-Kahn, May 2011
The Dominique Strauss-Kahn affair has brought back to mind that most hoary of cliches, that it is the British who have the sex scandals, while for the French the problem is money.
What has happened in New York with the IMF chief, supposedly is the exception to this rule: a sex scandal involving a French politician - except of course, in this case it is not just sex - it is also crime.
I have always thought the British-French dichotomy to be hokum of the highest order. The basis of the idea is that while the British are prudish and repressed about sex, the French are triumphantly open about it.
Therefore it would be impossible to conceive of a French sex scandal, because no-one would find it shocking if prominent people were engaged in extra-marital affairs. It would just be perfectly normal behaviour. But I think this view of the French is wrong.
'Pernicious lie'
It is the same lazy stereotyping that perpetuates the notion that the French are extraordinary lovers. They have no hang-ups about sex, so they cut to the chase and perform the act with all the fiery passion of their frenetic Gallic genes.
The difference between the cultures is not sex, it is politics and power.
Of course it suits everyone to keep this nonsense going.
British newspapers and foreigners in general thrive on cliches about the French, so they happily churn out the pathetic surveys about how more condoms are used per male in France than in any other nation, or how Paris hotels are block-booked by middle-aged civil servants taking two hours off in the afternoon to cheat on their wives.
And if you are French - well, if the rest of the world persists in thinking you are amazing lovers, can you blame them for going along with the lie?
But it is all a lie, and a pernicious lie at that - as, I think, the latest events have shown.
The difference between the cultures is not sex, it is politics and power.
Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn inside of a New York State Supreme Courthouse during a bail hearing in New York May 19, 2011.
Mr Strauss-Kahn was granted bail in New York on Thursday
Let us imagine a powerful, charismatic former minister, the lode-star of his party, an intellect, a wit - but a man also with a passionate interest in sex.
Let us imagine that in the course of his career, he becomes known as someone who uses both his political position and his physical strength to get women into bed.
His friends warn him that his behaviour amounts to harassment, not to say abuse, but he keeps going.
'In-crowd'
What happens in one society is that the man is exposed by the press. Intrusive, tabloid, exploitative they may be - but newspapers find out the secrets, report them, and the man is forced to change or quit.
But what happens in France? In France, the politician's aggressive sexual antics are ignored by the press.
Privacy laws stop them publishing, but in any case journalists and politicians inhabit the same metropolitan in-crowd - and "well, it's just old so-and-so; we all know how he's the 'great seducer'.. ha-ha; and no-one's ever complained, have they?"
Those in the know, know. But they don't say. And so old so-and-so begins to think he can get away with anything… anywhere.
In France - this revolutionary Eden - all life, political and cultural, revolves around elites.
These people are spared serious intrusion into their lives - so some of them do end up acting like some "fin de siecle" flaneur in a Guy de Maupassant short story, collecting mistresses and perpetuating the myth about the great Gallic lover.
But I can assure you most people do not live that kind of life.
And if there appears to be in France a kind of ultra-sophisticated, oh-so modern tolerance of the sexual habits of the people in power - it's mainly because the rest of us simply don't know what's going on.

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Elisabetta Canalis finally puts the bikini away as she goes for full-length glamour at Cannes' AMFAR gala

Over the past few days in Cannes, fans have been treated to the sight of Elisabetta Canalis in tiny bikinis.
But George Clooney's girlfriend managed to tear herself away from her sunbathing on the French Riviera and covered up her stunning figure at the AMFAR Cinema Against Aids gala last night.
The Italian model and TV presenter, 32, wore a dramatic full-length Roberto Cavalli gown as she joined a host of A-listers at the biggest party of the Cannes Film Festival.

Bronzed beauty: Elisabetta Canalis looked stunning in a bronze Roberto Cavalli gown as she arrived at the AMFAR Cinema Against AIDS Gala at the Hotel Du Cap in Antibes Bronzed beauty: Elisabetta Canalis looked stunning in a bronze Roberto Cavalli gown as she arrived at the AMFAR Cinema Against AIDS Gala at the Hotel Du Cap in Antibes
Bronzed beauty: Elisabetta Canalis looks stunning in a bronze Roberto Cavalli gown as she arrives at the AMFAR Cinema Against Aids Gala at the Hotel Du Cap in Antibes
Notably absent was her boyfriend Clooney, who is yet to be spotted at Cannes this year.
Canalis joined stars from movies, music, modelling and European royals at the glitzy bash at the Hotel Du Cap in Antibes.
Although Canalis opted for bronze, it appears the pale and nude palette was definitely a domineering theme for many of the females in attendance.
Topping up her tan: The 32-year-old spent Thursday sunbathing in a white sparkly bikini before getting dressed up for the gala Topping up her tan: The 32-year-old spent Thursday sunbathing in a white sparkly bikini before getting dressed up for the gala
Topping up her tan: The 32-year-old spent yesterday sunbathing in a white sparkly bikini before getting dressed up for the gala

'Ciao George, I miss you': Was Elisabetta on the phone to her boyfriend George Clooney?
'Ciao George, I miss you': Was Elisabetta on the phone to her boyfriend George Clooney?
English supermodel Naomi Campbell complemented her own fringed hairdo with a yellowy-cream Givenchy dress, while Rosario Dawson wore a stunning silver Roberto Cavalli bustier gown.
Kirsten Dunst went for a more unusual transparent pink column dress and Brooke Shields dazzled in a silk Marchesa number.
The annual AMFAR dinner and auction - which raises money for Aids charities - was dedicated to the late actress Dame Elizabeth Taylor, one of the most high-profile campaigners in the fight against the disease.
Pale and interesting: (L-R) Naomi Campbell in a fringed Givenchy gown, Rosario Dawson glimmers in Roberto Cavalli, while Bar Refaeli opts for a glittering creation too Pale and interesting: (L-R) Naomi Campbell in a fringed Givenchy gown, Rosario Dawson glimmers in Roberto Cavalli, while Bar Refaeli opts for a glittering Cavalli creation too Pale and interesting: (L-R) Naomi Campbell in a fringed Givenchy gown, Rosario Dawson glimmers in Roberto Cavalli, while Bar Refaeli opts for a glittering creation too
Pale and interesting: (L-R) Naomi Campbell in a fringed Givenchy gown, Rosario Dawson glimmers in Roberto Cavalli, while Bar Refaeli opts for a glittering creation too

Showing some flesh: (L-R) Milla Jovovich opted for an Atelier Versace gown, Ronnie Wood's Brazilian girlfriend Ana Araujo wore a cut-out blue number and Kirsten Dunst an unusual see-through creation Showing some flesh: (L-R) Milla Jovovich opted for an Atelier Versace gown, Ronnie Wood's Brazilian girlfriend Ana Araujo wore a cut-out blue number and Kirsten Dunst an unusual see-through creation Showing some flesh: (L-R) Milla Jovovich opted for an Atelier Versace gown, Ronnie Wood's Brazilian girlfriend Ana Araujo wore a cut-out blue number and Kirsten Dunst an unusual see-through creation
Showing some flesh: (L-R) Milla Jovovich opts for an Atelier Versace gown, Ronnie Wood's Brazilian girlfriend Ana Araujo wears a cut-out blue number and Kirsten Dunst an unusual see-through creation
Monochrome pair: Jude Law and Gwen Stefani speak on stage in their smart black and white ensembles, looking very glamorous indeed
Monochrome pair: Jude Law and Gwen Stefani speak on stage in their smart black and white ensembles, looking very glamorous indeed
Speaking at the bash, Sir Elton John called her a 'force of nature' and pledged she would remain the 'guiding star' of the event.
While many stars opted for traditional couture, some of the guests were keen to sex up their look with plunging necklines and thigh-high splits.
Gwen Stefani meanwhile was modelling a dress that was auctioned that night for the charity.
Hands up for bids! Gwen looked stunning as she modelled a dress for sale in the charity auction
Hands up for bids! Gwen looks stunning as she models a dress for sale in the charity auction
Nice curves: The singer posed in front of a cello at one point as she strutted her stuff on stage to show off the black glittery gown with lace collar detail Nice curves: The singer posed in front of a cello at one point as she strutted her stuff on stage to show off the black glittery gown with lace collar detail
Nice curves: The singer poses in front of a cello at one point as she struts her stuff on stage to show off the black glittery gown with lace collar detail
Stunning couple: Gwen with her rockstar husband Gavin Rossdale arriving at the event
Stunning couple: Gwen with her rockstar husband Gavin Rossdale arriving at the event
The No Doubt singer took centre stage to strut her stuff on stage in the glittering column dress with lace cowl neck detail, which the mother-of-two wore with a copper-coloured belt.
For once, the star had ditched her trademark red lipstick and had 1960s' inspired make-up, with pale lips and bouffant hair.
Ukrainian model-turned-actress Milla Jovovich meanwhile flaunted her toned legs in a racy split-to-the-thigh Atelier Versace dress, while Ronnie Wood's Brazilian polo player girlfriend Ana Araujo wore a Middle Eastern blue dress with cut-out waist.
Dashing couple: Actors Patrick Dempsey and Rosario Dawson were a good looking pair on stage at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cannes
Dashing couple: Actors Patrick Dempsey and Rosario Dawson are a good looking pair on stage at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cannes
A-listers: Hollywood star Uma Thurman wore a grey Chanel gown - complete with pockets, while singer Janet Jackson went for a Haider Ackerman skirt and top ensemble A-listers: Hollywood star Uma Thurman wore a grey Chanel gown - complete with pockets, while singer Janet Jackson went for a Haider Ackerman skirt and top ensemble
A-listers: Hollywood star Uma Thurman wears a grey Chanel gown - complete with pockets, while singer Janet Jackson opts for a Haider Ackerman skirt and top ensemble
Date night: Gwen Stefani wore a sparkly dark blue mermaid gown as she arrived with husband Gavin Rossdale, while Patrick Dempsey's wife Jillian Fink looked sleek in cream Date night: Gwen Stefani wore a sparkly dark blue mermaid gown as she arrived with husband Gavin Rossdale, while Patrick Dempsey's wife Jillian Fink looked sleek in cream
Date night: Gwen Stefani in a sparkly dark blue mermaid gown as she arrives with husband Gavin Rossdale, while Patrick Dempsey's wife Jillian Fink looks sleek in cream
All white now: (L-R) Northern Irish actress Kiera Chaplin wore a leggy halterneck, Brooke Shields wore silk Marchesa and Courtney Love wore a very low-cut dress All white now: (L-R) Northern Irish actress Kiera Chaplin wore a leggy halterneck, Brooke Shields wore silk Marchesa and Courtney Love wore a very low-cut dress All white now: (L-R) Northern Irish actress Kiera Chaplin wore a leggy halterneck, Brooke Shields wore silk Marchesa and Courtney Love wore a very low-cut dress

All white now: Northern Irish actress Kiera Chaplin wears a leggy halterneck, Brooke Shields in silk Marchesa and Courtney Love in a very low-cut dress
Also flashing some leg was Charlie Chaplin's actress granddaughter Kiera Chaplin in a slit-to-the-thigh white halterneck number.
Meanwhile, showing off a lot of cleavage in a very low-cut dress was Courtney Love, who looked incredibly pale in her feathery chiffon gown.
Representing the model contingent were some of the world's best paid supermodels including Dutch Doutzen Kroes in a backless orange mini and Victoria's Secret Angel Alessandra Ambrosio in an ice blue strapless gown.
Model behaviour: Models Anja Rubik and Eva Herzigova fuss over each other's hair while speaking at the event, during which they looked equally as pretty
Model behaviour: Anja Rubik and Eva Herzigova fuss over each other's hair while speaking at the event, during which they looked equally as pretty
Showing some leg: (L-R) Czech model Karolina Kurkova in Chanel, Indian actress Freida Pinto in Lanvin and Eva Herzigova in a blue glittery mini Showing some leg: (L-R) Czech model Karolina Kurkova in Chanel, Indian actress Freida Pinto in Lanvin and Eva Herzigova in a blue glittery mini Showing some leg: (L-R) Czech model Karolina Kurkova in Chanel, Indian actress Freida Pinto in Lanvin and Eva Herzigova in a blue glittery mini

Showing some leg: (L-R) Czech model Karolina Kurkova in Chanel, Indian actress Freida Pinto in Lanvin and Eva Herzigova in a blue glittery mini

Here come the supermodels: (L-R) Dutch model Doutzen Kroes wears a daring orange mini, Brazilian Alessandra Ambrosio looks stunning in ice blue while her friend Ana Beatriz Barros wears pale pink number
Ambrosio arrived with fellow Brazilian model Ana Beatriz Barros - who Brits will recognise as the lingerie model from the Marks & Spencer adverts.
They were in good company with Czech model Karolina Kurokova, who steered away from full-length gowns in a Chanel mini dress, and posed with the French label's chief designer Karl Lagerfeld outside the Hotel Du Cap.
Rhapsody in blue: (L-R) Mischa Barton wore a dark blue strapless column dress, Gossip Girl star Clemence Poesy wore a long Chanel number, while Sarah Ferguson wore a low-cut navy gown Rhapsody in blue: (L-R) Mischa Barton wore a dark blue strapless column dress, Gossip Girl star Clemence Poesy wore a long Chanel number, while Sarah Ferguson wore a low-cut navy gown Rhapsody in blue: (L-R) Mischa Barton wore a dark blue strapless column dress, Gossip Girl star Clemence Poesy wore a long Chanel number, while Sarah Ferguson wore a low-cut navy gown

Rhapsody in blue: (L-R) Mischa Barton in a dark blue strapless column dress, Gossip Girl star Clemence Poesy in a long Chanel number, while Sarah Ferguson opts for a low-cut navy gown
Golden oldies: Jane Fonda and her fiance Richard Perry (left), while Goldie Hawn arrived solo in an asymmetrical gown Golden oldies: Jane Fonda and her fiance Richard Perry (left), while Goldie Hawn arrived solo in an asymmetrical gown
Golden oldies: Jane Fonda and her fiance Richard Perry (left), while Goldie Hawn arrived solo in an asymmetrical gown
'Is that your final bid': Fonda gets into the charity spirit as she takes a bid on one of the items
'Is that your final bid': Fonda gets into the charity spirit as she takes a bid on one of the items
Ladies and gentlemen, start your bids: Campbell and Kanye West auctioned off an item together
Ladies and gentlemen, start your bids: Campbell and Kanye West auctioned off an item together
Other designers in attendance included Kenneth Cole - who was hosting the party- and Donatella Versace, who arrived holding hands with her slender daughter Allegra.
Representing the more mature end of Hollywood was Jane Fonda, who wore an eye-catching animal-print gown.
Among the royals in attendance were Prince Albert of Monaco and his fiancée Charlene Wittstock and Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Venice and Piedmont and French actress Clotilde Courau, Princess of Venice and Piedmont.
By royal appointment: Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Venice and Piedmont and French actress Clotilde Courau, Princess of Venice and Piedmont (left) and Prince Albert of Monaco and his fiancée Charlene Wittstock (right) By royal appointment: Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Venice and Piedmont and French actress Clotilde Courau, Princess of Venice and Piedmont (left) and Prince Albert of Monaco and his fiancée Charlene Wittstock (right)
By royal appointment: Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Venice and Piedmont and French actress Clotilde Courau, Princess of Venice and Piedmont (left) and Prince Albert of Monaco and his fiancée Charlene Wittstock (right)

Fashionistas: Donatella Versace and her daughter Allegra (left) and AMFAR chairman Kenneth Cole (far right) welcomes German designer Karl Lagerfeld and the ormer editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris, Carine Roitfeld Fashionistas: Donatella Versace and her daughter Allegra (left) and AMFAR chairman Kenneth Cole (far right) welcomes German designer Karl Lagerfeld and the ormer editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris, Carine Roitfeld
Fashionistas: Donatella Versace and her daughter Allegra (left) and AMFAR chairman Kenneth Cole (far right) welcomes German designer Karl Lagerfeld and the ormer editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris, Carine Roitfeld

All for a good cause: Dempsey and Dawson auctioned off an item (left), as did Jude Law and Aimee Mullins All for a good cause: Dempsey and Dawson auctioned off an item (left), as did Jude Law and Aimee Mullins
All for a good cause: Dempsey and Dawson auctioned off an item (left), as did Jude Law and Aimee Mullins
Showing some personality: Herzigova joined Anja Rubik - wearing a Emilio Pucci dress - on stage, while Kurkova larked around Showing some personality: Herzigova joined Anja Rubik - wearing a Emilio Pucci dress - on stage, while Kurkova larked around
Showing some personality: Herzigova joined Anja Rubik - wearing a Emilio Pucci dress - on stage, while Kurkova larked around

Hidden talent: Jovovich belted out I Just Wanna Be Loved By You to the starry audience
Hidden talent: Jovovich belted out I Just Wanna Be Loved By You to the starry audience

Arriving in style: Rapper Kanye West arrived at the party in a £815,000 limited edition Mercedes McLaren Stirling Moss
Arriving in style: Rapper Kanye West arrived at the party in a £815,000 limited edition Mercedes McLaren Stirling Moss

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