Francois Mitterrand's mistress spills secrets of 32-yr love affair in new biography

A biography of late French president Francois Mitterrand has stirred a controversy as his mistress has finally spilled the beans on their 32-year affair in the book.

BBC's Philip Short who managed to secure the art historian's first and only interview in his book Mitterrand: A Study in Ambiguity, which was published in the UK in 2013.

In one of the excerpts, published in a magazine, Anne Pingeot asserted that there were so many people that were boring and to admire the person one loves was an immense happiness, the Independent reported.

The now 72-year-old told Short that their love child i.e. their daughter was the only true gift she ever got from Mitterrand.

Pingeot also said that Mitterrand was given an injection "to end things" by his doctor as he lay dying from prostate cancer.

Mitterrand was 47-year-old and married with three children when he met Pingeot, who was just 20-year-old at the time.