Francois Hollande and Valerie Trierweiler split: Elysee Palace denies separation rumors

The Elysee Palace has contradicted media reports that President Francois Hollande would officially announce his separation from his partner, Valerie Trierweiler, on Saturday.

The president’s office said “false rumors” had been circulating in the French media.

Two weeks ago Closer magazine published photos apparently showing Francois Hollande’s affair with actress Julie Gayet.

Valerie Trierweiler spent a week in hospital after the revelations.

Francois Hollande, who has never denied having an affair with Julie Gayet, has admitted to a “difficult moment” in his relationship with Valerie Trierweiler.

On Thursday, Valerie Trierweiler sacked her lawyer for saying she was seeking to end her relationship with Francois Hollande “with the greatest possible dignity”.

Sources close to Francois Hollande told French media the presidency would make an official announcement on Saturday.

Valerie Trierweiler, who has continued to work as a journalist for the glossy magazine Paris-Match, is travelling to India on Sunday in support of the work of the French charity Action Against Hunger.

Since she left hospital, Valerie Trierweiler has been staying at an official residence, La Lanterne, near Versailles.

“He [Francois Hollande] has consulted her and brought her up to date, she accepts the situation as a fait accompli, but she is leaving it to him to take the initiative,” a member of Valerie Trierweiler’s entourage told the newspaper Le Parisien.

Valerie Trierweiler and Francois Hollande have never married. She announced their relationship six months after he left his previous partner, one-time French presidential candidate Segolene Royal, with whom he has four children.

For her part, Julie Gayet has announced she is suing Closer magazine, which published the original reports, for breach of privacy.