Teen Seduction & Age-Gap Sexual Affair of François Mitterrand

On episode 58 of the Air Mail's "Morning Meeting" podcast (Oct 22, 2021), Ashley Baker said, "You know we love a good sex scandel here on "Morning Meeting". Especially when it involves French politicians." 

Subsequently, Baker and co-host Michael Hainey related that François Mitterrand, the former President of France, had [at least] two mistresses. And [at least] one of his mistresses, Claire, was 50 years younger than Mitterrand and that Claire was 18 when she seduced the former statesman. 

Lara Marlowe elaborated in The Irish Times post "François Mitterrand’s last, secret love – living a triple life" (Oct 3, 2021) that 18-year-old Claire waited for hours outside of Mitterrand's apartment before she invited him to lunch - in her apartment:

Claire moved to Paris at the age of 18, to study law. In rebellion against conservative parents, she became an avid socialist. For four years, she and a friend stalked then president Mitterrand, waiting for hours outside his apartment in the rue de Bièvre, following him on his trips to the provinces. In 1988, he accepted Claire’s invitation to lunch in her tiny apartment in the rue du Four.

Hainey referred to Mitterrand and Claire's affair as a "Spring Winter" romance. And Baker shared, "That's a memoir I'd read!"

Sue Lyon & James B. Harris

But don't think that Baker's a teleiophile. After she erroneously said, "This movie [i.e., Lolita (1962)] wouldn't be made today," Baker made it clear that she didn't approve of the age-gap affair between 14-year-old Sue Lyon, Lolita's star, and James B. Harris, the film's 32-year-old producer. However, on episode 52 "J.F.K and the Radcliffe Girl - 60 Years Later", Baker said, "I love this story," which is about a sexual affair between 20-year-old Diana De Vegh and 40-year-old John F. Kennedy. #confused

Lastly but interestingly, in The Night of the Iguana (1964), Charlotte Goodall (17-year-old Sue Lyon) entered Reverend Shannon's bedroom and seduced the Episcopal priest (38-year-old Richard Burton).

THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA (1964): "Lolita" Seduces a Priest

Here's part of the storyline posted on IMDb for The Night of the Iguana (1964):

The Rev. T. Lawrence Shannon has been living in Mexico for two years, working as a tourist guide for a cut-rate travel agency. Shannon lost his church and was defrocked after taking liberties with one of his parishioners. He's now accompanying a group of middle-aged ladies from Texas whose leader, Judith Fellowes, is keeping a close eye on her teenage ward, Charlotte Goodall [(Sue Lyon)], who definitely has an interest in the former priest. After Charlotte and Shannon spend the night together, Fellowes is out to have him fired [...]

Lolita (1962) fans are well-aware that Sue Lyon was 14 when she was cast into Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Nabokov's novel. However, did you know that Lyon played a similar role, at the age of 17, in The Night of the Iguana (1964), which is based on Tennessee Williams' play?

In The Night of the Iguana (1964), Charlotte Goodall (Sue Lyon), a nymphet, enters Reverend Shannon's bedroom and seduces the Episcopal priest, who was played by the alleged real-life ephebophile Richard Burton. 

The seduction comes after Reverend Shannon was seduced (off screen) by "a very young Sunday school teacher." However, in both cases, the Reverend was accused of being the aggressor and in the wrong.

It may sound counter-intuitive that a 17-year-old may be attracted to a priest or monk, but the mindset of priests and pimps are similar. Consequently, they're similarly attractive to (young) women.

The teleiophile themed The Night of the Iguana won an Oscar, grossed $12 million worldwide at the box office, earned $4.5 million in US theatrical rentals, and was the 10th highest grossing film of 1964. And Time magazine said the film, " [...] excites the senses, persuades the mind, and even occasionally speaks to the spirit—one of the best movies ever made from a Tennessee Williams play."