Developments are moving so fast in Turkey that an issue that might occupy the agenda elsewhere for weeks lasts no more than a day. This was the case with French President Francois Hollande’s two-day visit to Ankara and Istanbul.

Turks had been waiting for this visit for months, with high hopes for a new page being turned on Turkey and the European Union in their relations. There was such a firm belief that the real obstruction to Turkey’s EU accession was France, in particular former President Nicolas Sarkozy, that Hollande’s taking over gave rise to expectations that the path of Turkey-EU relations would now be smoothed. Hollande’s visit was a concrete symbol of this desire and optimism for the future.

The fact that Hollande was to become only the third French president to pay an official visit to Turkey — following in the footsteps of Charles de Gaulle in 1968 and Francois Mitterrand in 1992 — was given great significance. Sarkozy had also visited Ankara, in 2010, but in an unofficial capacity having nothing to do with bilateral relations and only for a few hours.

Something totally irrelevant to relations, however, made Hollande's official visit especially juicy for paparazzi media outlets. His relationship with Valerie Trierweiler — his companion who held a place in matters of protocol although they were not married — had just ended because of his relationship with another woman. For Hollande to make a public appearance in Turkey fewer than two days after announcing the relationship was over naturally captured the attention of paparazzi of all sorts and certainly the French.