La maîtresse du président

Marguerite Jeanne Japy (1869 – 1954) was born in Beaucourt, France to a family of fortune. She married French painter Adolphe Steinheil in July 1890. Steinheil did not enjoy much artistic success but made a good living painting society portraits and restoring church windows.

In 1897 Marguerite became the mistress of French President Félix Faure until his death in 1899. Since Faure probably had other mistresses the affair by itself does not seem to be the stuff that movies are made of, but interest stems from the fact that after Faure's death Marguerite had two brushes with the law, the second serious, and became a rather notorious figure in French society. Also, her life had a spectacular second chapter, as we are informed at the end.

This movie does everything well, including the casting of the main characters and the description of the French political scene of the time, shaken by the Dreyfus affair and the Panama Canal scandal. As for historical accuracy, it is probably correct although it bends the facts slightly in favor of Marguerite. A movie to watch.