Paris: French first lady Valerie Trierweiler has been hospitalised in Paris following revelations about an affair between French President Francois Hollande and an actress, French media said on Sunday.
BFM Television said the Elysee presidential palace had confirmed that Trierweiler had been hospitalised since Friday because of exhaustion.
French daily Le Parisien said earlier on its website that Trierweiler, shaken by the revelations about the affair, had been taken to hospital on Thursday, right after hearing about Hollande’s liaison.
The paper said doctors had prescribed rest and that she would be discharged in a few days.
Trierweiler’s spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
On Friday, Hollande threatened to sue celebrity magazine Closer, complaining of breach of privacy after it said he was having an affair with actress Julie Gayet.
Hollande and Trierweiler, a journalist for celebrity magazine Paris Match, are not married but have been in a relationship for several years.
Reports also said that Trierweiler was facing the prospect of becoming the first first lady in history to be kicked out of the Elysee Palace.
Beyond a new romance, opponents claim the scandal exposes publicly funded deceit, security lapses, and the huge cost of a first lady who no longer has any legitimacy.
Hollande, who turns 60 this year, was poised to make a statement to “clarify” the position of 48-year-old divorcee Trierweiler. She currently has five staff working for her at her office as well as numerous other taxpayer-funded perks, including homes across France, private jets and limousines.
As anger at the scandal grew, politicians suggested Trierweiler’s position was already untenable.
“Is it normal that she stays at the Elysee on taxpayers’ money while the President has other relationships,” said MP Daniel Fasquelle. He added: “So who is France’s first lady now?”
Georges Fenech, of the opposition UMP, even suggested that both Hollande and Trierweiler should quit the Elysee.
“The question of the resignation of Francois Hollande needs to be posed, before the values upon which our nation is based are not completely destroyed,” he said. “How can we not deplore this intolerable attack on the image of France?”
He said it was outrageous that Hollande was using “bodyguards paid for with public funds” to attend secret trysts with Gayet, who has two children with her estranged husband, Argentinian film director Santiago Amigorena, 51.
Trierweiler has made no official comment, but friends have confirmed that she is “incensed and humiliated”. There were even claims that she and Hollande have been living separate lives for months and that the president is keen to “formalise” his relationship with Gayet.
— with inputs from Daily Mail
