Francois Hollande, the president of France, and Segolene Royal, a senior cabinet minister who once ran for that post herself, have an exceptionally complicated relationship. The two lived together for 25 years, raising four children over that time.

When Pope Francis touched down on French soil for the first time in his papacy with a visit to the European Parliament in Strasbourg last November, Ms. Royal was the senior French official there to greet him.

The position of vice president does not exist in France; neither does a role comparable that of the first lady of the United States.

Elaine Sciolino Quotes