Shock news: French women do get fat, they have brattish, fussy-eater children, chipped nails, they sometimes sleep on their own wearing big cotton knickers and they do mind if their husband is enjoying "cinq-a-sept" trysts with his mistress.
President Francois Hollande's split from his "official" partner, Valerie Trierweiler, has revived some hoary old stereotypes concerning the French female.
Until now, "les francaises" were seen as effortlessly stylish, enviably slim and usually able to treat their partner's dalliances with impressive sang-froid, and have been the subject of a host of self-help books.