Francois Hollande Confirms Split with Valerie Trierweiler

French President Francois Hollande confirms to AFP that his "shared life" with Valerie Trierweiler is over.

The French newspaper Journal du Dimanche reported that Hollande will announce the separation this weekend, after revelations about his alleged affair with French actress Julie Gayet.

Trierweiler will travel to India on Sunday for a charity trip funded by a French aid agency in her first official engagement since leaving hospital. She was admitted to hospital for nine days for "rest", amid speculation she is suffering from depression and had taken an overdose of pills after news of the two-year long affair between Hollande and Gayet broke.

But the president is said to want to settle the issue of their future before her departure to India, the newspaper said, adding that "the press release from the Elysee Palace should be released some time today" [Saturday].

Spokespeople for Holland and Trierweiler were unwilling to comment.

The affair, revealed by French gossip magazine Closer, has prompted critics to urge Holland to clarify whether Trierweiler will remain as First Lady and accompany him on a state visit to the United States in February. Hollande has promised to clarify his relationship with Trierweiler, and her status, before departing for Washington on 11 February.

Throughout the scandal, Hollande has refused to confirm or deny the affair allegations. At a press conference earlier this month, he dodged questions about Gayet, telling reporters that he was experiencing a "tough moment" in his private life but wished to keep the matter private.

He added: "Everyone in their personal life can encounter difficulties. They are tough moments. But I have one principle: private matters should be treated in private."

Trierweiler, 48, has been Hollande's partner since 2006, when she met the future president during the parliamentary elections of 1988 while he was living with Ségolène Royal, with whom Hollande has four children.