François Hollande says First Lady Valérie Trierweiler is 'getting better' - but stays quiet about their future

She is now resting at La Lanterne, the French equivalent of Chequers

Valérie Trierweiler left hospital in Paris yesterday, a week after reports emerged that her partner, President François Hollande, was having an affair with the actress Julie Gayet (EPA)

President François Hollande said that his First Lady, Valérie Trierweiler was "getting better" but refused to comment on the future of their relationship.

During a visit to the Netherlands, Mr Hollande was asked at a press conference whether Ms Trierweiler was "still First Lady" following the exposure of his affair with a 41-year-old actress.

"Thank you for your question," President Hollande said.

"Valérie Trierweiler is getting better and is now resting at La Lanterne (the French equivalent of Chequers, near the Palace of Versailles). I have nothing to add."

Last week Mr Hollande promised to make a statement on his unmarried partnership with Mr Trierweiler before the couple are scheduled to leave France on 9 February for a visit to the White House. He has told Ms Trierwaeiler that he needs needs more "time" before deciding whether to end, or continue, their relationship, according to the magazine Paris Match.

The magazine - where Ms Trierweiler is employed as a journalist - has given a long insider's account on its website of the First Lady's state of mind following the revelation by Closer magazine 11 days ago that the Presidency was having an affair with the actress Julie Gayet.

French press said that Mr Hollande's affair with Julie Gayet started more than two years ago (EPA)

Ms Trierweiler left the La Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris on Saturday after eight days of treatement for depression and low blood pressure. Paris Match's article is evidently based on conversations between the First Lady and her colleagues at the magazine. The strong implication is that she knows her relationship with Mr Hollande is finished.

"She needs time, years, to absorb the most violent shock of her life - the cheating of the man who was her partner for eight years," Paris Match said. "The worst was to discover in the press that the affair with Julie Gayet started before the election (in May 2012)."

"Stricken, humiliated, she finds herself torn between her immense distress and her impetuousness, between questions about her future and her anger. Today Valérie Trierweiler is perhaps at the end of a journey."

"She found herself projected into the centre of power. She learned…she suffered. She now needs a space in which slowly to find her feet."