Summary French President Francois Hollande has said that he has split with his partner Valerie Trierweiler.
PARIS (AFP) - French President Francois Hollande on Saturday told AFP he has split with his longstanding partner Valerie Trierweiler after his affair with an actress nearly 20 years his junior.
The announcement came after a day of rumours in the French media that Hollande would formally announce the rupture on Saturday, on the eve of a visit by Trierweiler to India for charity work.
Saying he was speaking as a private individual and not as head of state as the matter concerned his private life, Hollande told AFP over the phone: "I wish to make it known that I have ended my partnership with Valerie Trierweiler."
Trierweiler, 48, had been convalescing at a presidential residence in Versailles outside Paris after leaving hospital last Saturday, where she was treated for what was described as fatigue brought on by press revelations of Hollande's affair with 41-year-old actress Julie Gayet.
Trierweiler is due to fly to Mumbai on Sunday for a charity trip organised by French relief organisation Action Against Hunger (ACF), in her first public appearance since the scandal broke two weeks ago.
An ACF spokeswoman told AFP the trip "was confirmed this morning by Ms. Trierweiler's office."
Hollande, 59, announced his separation from Segolene Royal, a senior member of his Socialist party and a presidential candidate in 2007, just after she lost the election to Nicolas Sarkozy.
He then started living openly with Trierweiler. Though she is not married to Hollande, she assumed the role of First Lady at official functions after Hollande's election in 2012.
There was no immediate comment from Trierweiler after the announcement of the split.
On Saturday, the popular Le Parisien daily carried a story on its website declaring "C'est Fini" (It's Over), adding that the Elysee Palace would release a statement shortly.
"Hollande, who took the initiative for the separation, wanted to make it official before Valerie Trierweiler's departure for India," the Journal du Dimanche weekly said on its website.
