French President Emmanuel Macron has been reportedly bombarded with text messages after his mobile number leaked online.
The Elysée confirmed Mr Macron’s number was made public almost two weeks ago and he received about 100 messages, many of which were “not always flattering”, according to local reports.
France's youngest President since Napoleon, elected against right-wing Marine Le Pen, has seen his popularity ratings take a turn for the worse recently.
French newsite Challenges reported one French minister making a joke that at least he could not be contacted in the middle of the night for a while by the President as he had to change his number.
The 39-year-old’s number was not the target of a cyber-attack, officials said.
It was stolen from a journalist’s mobile phone, and the number had not changes since the President was minister of the economy and finance under former President Francois Hollande.
The Elysée also confirmed the leak had not been a breach of security and that Mr Hollande used the number for personal reasons.
He has two mobile phones, and the one shared online was hardly used, officials said.
They added he had an “encrypted phone and secured telecommunication lines” too.
A recent survey showed Mr Macron's “dissatisfaction rating” rising to a record high of 57 per cent, from 43 per cent in July.
He has recently suffered tough debates over labour reform, a standoff with the military and it was revealed he spent 26,000 euros (£24,000) on makeup during his first 100 days in office.
