France's first lady bids farewell to presidential residence - CNN

• AFP quotes Hollande as saying "I have ended my shared life" with Valerie Trierweiler


• Allegations over Hollande's personal life fueled international media frenzy


• Trierweiler assumed the role of first lady at official functions following Hollande's election in May 2012.

(CNN) -- French President Francois Hollande announced to a French news outlet on Saturday that he is ending his relationship with his partner Valerie Trierweiler.

"I wish to make it known that I have ended my shared life (partnership) with Valerie Trierweiler," Hollande is quoted as saying to Agence France-Presse.

Hollande's private life has been the subject of global headlines since claims earlier this month in the French magazine Closer of a two-year affair with actress Julie Gayet.

Speculation about the split swirled Saturday after a French national weekly reported that Hollande was expected to announce his separation from Trierweiler on Saturday.

Without citing sources, Le Journal du Dimanche said an announcement from the Elysee presidential palace was expected Saturday -- a day before Trierweiler travels to India. The story was picked up by several French media outlets.

But the French presidency denied the report that an announcement would be made.

"It is a rumor that circulated on the Internet today. There is absolutely no confirmation of the publication of a statement today," the palace press officer told CNN.

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Representatives for Trierweiler could not immediately be reached for comment.

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Hollande has not confirmed or denied the alleged affair but did threaten legal action. At his first press conference of the year, Hollande said he and France's first lady were going through "painful moments."

The allegations had left Trierweiler's position in some doubt, namely ahead of a planned trip to Washington in February.

She has been Hollande's partner for several years. An arts columnist for weekly magazine Paris Match, she is not married to Hollande but assumed the role of first lady at official functions following his election in May 2012.

Her attorney Frederique Giffard told French daily newspaper Le Figaro this week that the couple were working to issue a "clarification" concerning their relationship.

Last weekend, Trierweiler left the hospital where she'd spent a week being treated for stress and fatigue, Paris Match magazine reported. The same magazine also said she would recover for "several days" in an official residence in Versailles.

Hollande, 59, has seen his personal approval ratings plummet since his election, although this has been attributed to dissatisfaction with his leadership rather than disapproval of his private life.

A recent survey by French pollster Ifop with Le Journal du Dimanche found that more than 80% of respondents had not changed their opinion of the President based on the allegations of an affair.

Hollande has four children from a previous relationship with Segolene Royal, a senior member of his Socialist Party and a 2007 presidential candidate. Royal announced their separation just after she lost the 2007 election to Nicolas Sarkozy.

CNN's Lilia Blaise contributed to this report

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