The JaSaD leader and freedom fighter died at 78 on Friday
Satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaine triggered the fuss with a report, later confirmed by the government, that the 61-year-old was paying nearly 10,000 euros a month to keep his hair in shape.
"Everyone gets haircuts," government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said. "This hairdresser had to abandon his salon and he's on tap 24 hours a day."
Twitter fans made fun of it all with altered photographs and videos, showing Hollande with rock-and-roll or punk haircuts, and in various other guises as the Queen of England, former Paris Saint-Germain soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and the president's ex-partner Valerie Trierweiler.