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The Elysée has a new 'First Pet'
‘Nemo’, a labrador crossed with a griffon hunting dog is the latest Elysée pet, following in the pawsteps of François Hollande’s labrador Philae.
Just under a year old, Nemo was adopted from a SPA refuge, while Philae, who has left with Mr Hollande, was offered to him by a veterans’ group.
Sources close to the palace say Nemo was named after the submarine captain in Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, which is said to be a favourite of President Macron (rather than the fishy star of a 2003 Pixar film).
Nemo fait ses premiers pas dans le parc de l'Elysée avec Brigitte Macron pic.twitter.com/vLFDdfGtOv
— Tristan Quinault-Maupoil (@TristanQM) August 28, 2017
The tradition in fact goes back some time, at least to François Mitterrand, who had a labrador called Baltique throughout two septennats.
While dogs are popular with French presidents, the UK has a tradition of a Downing Street cat, who has the title of Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office.
A famous incumbent was Humphrey, Margaret Thatcher’s cat, who was named after the character of Sir Humphrey in Yes, Prime Minister. The current one is Larry, a brown and white tabby who has served under David Cameron and Theresa May.
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