News & Politics

Here’s a Music Video Starring François Hollande’s Girlfriend

Bad headlines for the French President are good news for an American indie duo.

Gayet, left, in the video for the Minor Alps song "Waiting for You." Photograph courtesy of Minor Alps via Facebook.

French President François Hollande is in Washington this week alone, having recently split from his partner, Valérie Trierweiler, amid the news that he’s been carrying on an affair with actress Julie Gayet.

But just because Hollande is flying solo at tonight’s state dinner at the White House, it doesn’t mean Gayet is entirely out of the picture. Although most of her films have not had a North American release, Gayet can be seen currently in the music video for “Waiting for You,” a dream-pop track by the indie duo Minor Alps, a collaboration between Nada Surf frontman Matthew Caws and Lemonheads bassist Juliana Hatfield.

The video for the airy song, which was uploaded to YouTube on January 30, features Gayet walking around a French city, spliced with shots of her in an apartment and waiting in a laundromat. And while Gayet’s newfound notoriety has given Hollande weeks of tabloid headlines, Minor Alps’s debut album, Get There, released last October on Barsuk Records, is enjoying the publicity.

Staff Writer

Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.