French President Francois Hollande has threatened legal action over a magazine’s report he is having an affair, the latest breach in the French media’s practice of turning a blind eye to presidential flings.

Rumours have long circulated that the 59-year-old Mr Hollande might have a lover.

Closer magazine published images yesterday showing a bodyguard and a helmeted man it says is Hollande visiting the apartment of Julie Gayet, 41, a moderately known French actress who appeared in a clip for his 2012 presidential campaign.

French media faces strict privacy laws, as well as a long tradition of ignoring private lives of public figures.

Former President Francois Mitterrand had a daughter with his lover that the French media never revealed, until he appeared publicly with her.

But the publication marked the latest incursion into the once-sacred private lives of French politicians. The tradition has been chipped away since Hollande’s predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy divorced his wife Cecilia, who was having an affair, and remarried model and singer Carla Bruni.

Bloggers, tweeters and other online sources have tapped into public curiosity and pushed the borders of privacy. Closer last made a splash when it published topless photos of the Duchess of Cambridge.

Hollande said in a statement he “deeply deplores the attacks on respect for privacy, to which each citizen has a right.” He is considering action, including via the courts, it said but did not address the alleged affair.

Hollande, who has never married,had four children with politician Segolene Royal, 60, and has been living with his partner, journalist Valerie Trierweiler, 48, considered France’s first lady.