Is 'cheating' Hollande about to dump 'The Rottweiler'? President 'wants to separate from First Lady after affair with actress - but is too scared to do it while she's in hospital'

• Mr Hollande will hold his New Year's press conference on the economy
• Comes amid media frenzy over secret trysts with film star Julie Gayet
• Valerie Trierweiler is set to remain in hospital suffering from 'shock'
• Socialist MP: 'There is no First Lady, it’s over'
  

By Ian Sparks for MailOnline and Peter Allen for MailOnline

Published: 04:02 EST, 14 January 2014 | Updated: 10:41 EST, 14 January 2014

Francois Hollande wants to publicly announce his separation from France’s first lady Valerie Trierweiler but is scared to do while she is in hospital, it was claimed today.

As the President prepared to ‘clarify’ his relationship with his girlfriend of seven years because of his on-going love affair with an actress, Elysee Palace aides said he was desperate not to ‘appear weak’.

‘Some have advised him to make an announcement of a split, but the hospitalisation of Valerie Trierweiler convinced him to give it time,’ one told Le Parisien today.

Ms Trierweiler, 48, is briefing the newspaper from her a hospital bed in central Paris, where she has been lying since news of Mr Hollande’s affair with Julie Gayet, 41, broke last Friday.

Mr Hollande will hold his New Year's press conference on the economy amid a media frenzy over his secret trysts with 41-year-old film star Julie Gayet

There is nothing physically wrong with her, but she said learning about the relationship was like ‘being hit by a high-speed train’ and is desperate to win public sympathy.

Intriguingly, an Elysee Palace spokesman would not say to today whether Mr Hollande had even visited his de fact first lady in hospital, where Ms Trierweiler has so far spent four nights.

This morning Francois Rebsamen, a Socialist MP, said the revelations showed the entire idea of a First Lady was outdated.

'There is no longer a First Lady in France – these practices are outdated, passé and should be banned,' he told RTL radio. 

'Distraught' Miss Trierweiler, 48, was admitted for treatment following the publication of photographs of the French leader sneaking in and out of his love-nest on the back of a moped

He added: 'François Hollande himself said it at one point: You elect a person. And then this person can live alone, can be single, can live with another man or a woman. It's doesn’t interest people and it doesn't come into play.'

'This means that there is no First Lady, it’s over.'

Hollande, 59, is said to have made a full confession to his partner of six years the night before full details were published in France's Closer magazine on Friday.

But mother-of-three Ms Trierweiler, 48, has told friends she is ready to forgive her boyfriend if he states both 'publicly and privately' that his affair with Ms Gayet is over.

Mr Hollande has spoken only about the scandal since it was made public last Friday, to say he deplored the intrusion into his privacy.

But he has hinted that he will not dodge questions about his love life when he appears in public at 4.30pm today.

A source close to the president told French daily Le Figaro: 'He has said that if he is asked, he will answer.'

But the newspaper added: 'This press conference could not come at a worse time for him.

'He will be trying to focus the debate on his economic policies while since last Friday, it is his private life that has taken centre stage.'

Despite the media attention, a recent poll found 80 per cent of French people believed Mr Hollande's love life should remain private.

And 90 per cent believed France's struggling economy is the most critical issues facing the nation.

Mr Hollande plans to today's event to propose a 'responsibility pact' with businesses in which firms will be offered tax cuts and less red tape in return for hiring commitments aimed at reducing 12 percent unemployment.

Secret tryst: Actress Julie Gayet, 41, is said to have spent several nights with the president

It has been claimed the pair met at a £2.5million Paris love nest, registered to writer and actor Michel Ferracci

Julie Gayet (left) with Emmanuelle Hauck (right). The flat is registered to Ferracci, who is a former lover of the French actress Hauck, who now uses the flat with their children

Socialist party spokesman David Assouline said of the press conference: 'This major political event must remain a major political event.'

Last night a spokesman said Miss Trierweiler,  would stay in hospital ‘for another six or eight more days’, adding that she needed rest after a ‘very strong emotional shock’.

From her hospital bed, Miss Trierweiler seemed well enough to be orchestrating a campaign to win public sympathy.

She let it be known that she felt she had been ‘hit by a high-speed train’ – but was ready to forgive Mr Hollande.

The couple are not married but have been together for six years, making her the de facto first lady when the Socialist leader became President in 2012.

The divorced magazine journalist, who still writes a column for Paris Match, has been widely criticised for her high living.

She has five taxpayer-funded staff at her permanent disposal and the use of several homes, jets and limousines.

Miss Trierweiler has been personally briefing French newspaper Le Parisien, which last night quoted ‘a friend’ as saying: ‘She seems ready to forgive, but she wants to know quickly what Francois Hollande’s intentions are.’

Frédéric Gerschel of Le Parisien later said he had spoken directly to Miss Trierweiler.

He said: ‘She has made it clear that a clarification is needed. She knows that, if she is no longer first lady she cannot continue to have an office in the Elysee and make use of state funds.’

Mr Hollande has said nothing publicly – except to complain about his privacy – since French magazine Closer carried comical pictures of him sneaking in to his Paris love nest wearing a helmet after arriving by scooter.

According to Le Parisien, Mr Hollande broke the news of his cheating to the first lady on Thursday afternoon.

Miss Trierweiler’s friend told the paper: ‘The scene took place in the panelled rooms of Elysée Palace, without confrontation nor shouting. In a few words, the head of state admitted the existence of a liaison.

‘He denied nothing. Neither the escapades on the scooter with the security officer in the middle of the night, nor the frequency of these clandestine rendezvous, nor the date that this love affair began... several months ago.’

When Mr Hollande confirmed his romantic encounters, a ‘political-emotional Tsunami’ ensured, according to Le Parisien.

She has indicated that she is prepared to forgive President Francois Hollande for his affair with an actress, even though she felt she had been 'hit by a high speed train' when first told about it. But Elysee Palace sources in turn said Ms Trierweiler solely wanted to hold on to a position which ensured her wealth, fame and huge public influence

‘Valerie took it like being hit by a high speed train,’ said a friend. ‘She was completely stunned. Of course, she’d been aware of rumours circulating around Paris for weeks. 

‘She just wanted to believe it was false. For her, they are still a couple,’ added the friend, saying Ms Trierweiler and Mr Hollande spent New Year’s Eve together, and enjoyed part of Christmas with Ms Trierweiler’s family. 

A palace source said: ‘She didn’t believe it at first. She thought they could just get their lawyers to stop the magazine publishing the story. Then she was told it couldn’t be banned. She was upset, very upset.

‘She is being humiliated, and effectively turned into a national laughing stock.’

Some critics have questioned her decision to check into hospital to rest, with one source close to Mr Hollande saying she was using ‘emotional blackmail’ to keep her job.

It has been claimed the pair met at a £2.5million Paris love nest, registered to writer and actor Michel Ferracci.

Ferracci was given an 18-month  suspended prison sentence last year for his role in a group that laundered money from a Corsican crime gang through a Paris casino.

The building is a stone’s throw from the Elysee Palace, and contains apartments owned by wealthy businessmen including multi-millionaire fashion designer Pierre Cardin.

Ferracci pays the local taxes on the fourth floor flat, although it is not known who owns the property.

Ferracci, once a close friend and business associate of assassinated Corsican mafia boss Richard Casanova, is a former lover of the French actress Emmanuelle Hauck, who now uses the flat with their children.

Trierweiler (left) became Mr Hollande’s live-in girlfriend following his separation from Segolene Royal, the mother of his four children. But her place in the president’s affections have been taken by Julie Gayet (right)

Miss Hauck is a friend of Miss Gayet, and there is a suggestion that is how she came to use the apartment to meet Mr Hollande.

It is believed Miss Trierweiler especially wants to go on a presidential visit to Washington in February to meet up again with President Obama, and first lady Michelle, whom she considers a friend.

Ms Trierweiler has made no formal comment since news of Mr Hollande’s cheating was made public on Friday, but may break her silence when she leaves hospital.

Mr Hollande is, in the meantime, being urged to clarify the situation in his complicated love life.

The Socialist president is due to appear at a press conference in Paris tomorrow, officially to talk about the failing French economy, but it is likely to be dominated by the Trierweiler scandal.

The damning photographs allegedly also showed the two-timing president going to comical lengths to keep his romantic liaisons with Miss Gayet a secret.

Mr Hollande was pictured disguised beneath a helmet and a dark coat arriving on a three-wheeled moped driven by his bodyguard.

He spent the night there on several occasions. One morning, his publicly-funded bodyguard returned carrying breakfast croissants.

Mr Hollande has threatened legal action against Closer for breaching his privacy but has not denied the affair.

These black and white photographs show a topless Julie Gayet in a photo shoot in 1998